Mr. Cordani's book is a must-read for all who value the mystique associated with American democratic ideals. He takes the reader on a stroll through the ages, exploring the history, politics, science, and philosophy that enabled our nation to develop into what it is today.

Mr. Cordani makes a cogent case in support of his thesis that our Founding Fathers had high hopes that the collective common sense of ordinary citizens would sustain American values. He asserts that so-called experts,

bureaucrats, and political hacks serve to cloud the common sense of "we the people".

As our country moves from a "Trust in God" mentality to a more secular one that underscores "Trust in Science", Mr. Cordani cautions the reader on how scientific experts may lead ordinary citizens, while perhaps well-intentioned down a wrong path that contravenes their common sense.

He concludes that scientific experts have caused the criminal justice pendulum to swing away from natural law mandates supporting retribution for the crime, instead focusing on rehabilitation of the crime's perpetrator.

If you believe in the concept of free will, the case in favor of retribution for the crime under the natural law is pretty straightforward.

Even if you believe that free will is a myth, as did Justice Holmes and does Sam Harris, Mr. Cordani deftly argues that the arc of justice even for them is in urgent need of a re-set.

This book is a must-read for all who value our American democracy, experts and non-experts alike.

Dale L. Carlson

Distinguished Practitioner-in-Residence, IP Law

Director of the Intellectual Property Law Concentration

Quinnipiac University School of Law