Hofstra Law School, Hempstead, N.Y. — Bloomsbury USA has released a paperback edition of "The Genius of America: How the Constitution Saved Our Country and Why It Can Again.”

The authors, Eric Lane is the Eric J. Schmertz Distinguished Professor of Public Law and Public Service at Hofstra Law School and Michael Oreskes is the managing editor of the Associated Press for U.S. news.

Lane and Oreskes recently remarked on the economic crisis in an editorial for the Los Angeles Times http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-oreskes18-2008oct18,0,6345683.story.

“Genius” discusses the Constitution, the document that has made the U.S. the longest surviving democracy in history. The authors dissect the Constitution’s history relative to the current problems of democracy.

The book gained national attention and was positively reviewed by The New York Times. “Mike Oreskes and Eric Lane explore the collective genius that created our ‘constitutional conscience’ and show how the genuine political genius of Madison enables today’s majority to rule without ruining the rights of the minority,” said William Safire, New York Times columnist.

“Genius” also prompted praise from Cokie Roberts, author “Founding Mothers” and an analyst for ABC News and NPR. “Lane and Oreskes seek to change that by reminding us of how essential the Constitution is to our nationhood and why it's important for the country to rekindle the Constitutional conscience as we face the challenges of the twenty-first century," she said.

Former New York State Governor Mario Cuomo said, “Lane and Oreskes summon us to restore our Constitution’s efficacy by our reconnecting with its history and its intelligence. They do it brilliantly.”

Lane is the senior fellow at the Brennan Center of Justice and the New York University School of Law. Through 2005 he served as special counsel to the speaker of the New York City Council.

Lane was also a consultant for the Justice Project of the Center for Court Innovation. From July 1993 to February 1995 he served as counsel to the New York State Temporary Commission on Constitutional Revision. Lane served, in 1990, as chair of the New York City Task Force on Charter Implementation. From 1986 to 1989 he served as executive director/counsel to the New York City Charter Revision Commission. Lane also spent six years (1981-1986) as chief counsel to the New York State Senate Minority.

Lane holds a bachelor’s degree from Brown University, a Master of Arts from State University of New York, Stony Brook, a juris doctorate from Fordham University and a Master of Laws from New York University.

Oreskes oversees all U.S. news from The Associated Press, from state bureaus to national political coverage, for both U.S. and world audiences. He previously served as executive editor of the International Herald Tribune and deputy managing editor of The New York Times, supervising television and Internet content. During this period, he won three Emmy awards and a DuPont award for documentary television.

Oreskes is a graduate of City College of New York.

Hofstra Law School prepares passionate students to make an impact in their communities and beyond. Accredited by the American Bar Association and ranked in the top 100 law schools nationwide, Hofstra Law is located on the campus of Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York. The Law School offers both full-time and part-time juris doctor (J.D.) programs as well as LL.M. graduate degrees in American Legal Studies (for foreign law graduates) and Family Law (for U.S. law graduates).