Following a brief introduction to the Supreme Court, readers are encouraged to rule on several landmark Supreme Court cases. For each case, background information, legal history, options, the court's decision, and the result are provided. An attractive format and details on the selection of justices and their roles would have improved the volume, which contains black-and-white photographs. Bib., ind.

Gr 7 Up-A presentation of 8 significant 20th-century Supreme Court decisions, offering the options available to the justices and encouraging readers to make their own choices. They then turn the page to see the actual ruling and its results. All of the cases involve personal or civil rights-Schenk v. United States (free speech during World War I); Board of Education v. Barnett (flag salutation during World War II); Brown v. Board of Education; Gideon v. Wainwright; Miranda v. Arizona; Roe v. Wade; Bakke v. California; and Cruzan v. Missouri (right to die)-a selection that allows YAs to see how the Court has consistently moved to offer more protections to citizens over the course of this century. Aaseng describes the backgrounds, cases, and options clearly, and keeps legal jargon to a minimum. This is virtually no narrative about Court trends and only passing mention of other cases. That type of information is available in Edmund Lindop's The Bill of Rights and Landmark Cases (Watts, 1989) and Don Lawson's Landmark Supreme Court Cases (Enslow, 1987); Aaseng's format allows readers to actually see and think about the legal reasoning and arguments behind each case. Black-and-white photos appear throughout. Interesting enough for general reading, and very helpful for reports.-Mary Mueller, Rolla Junior High School, MO