Adamson was an appellate specialist as a lawyer, but has now retired to pursue legal writing for both professionals and lay readers. Here he explores how US courts have interpreted, and in his opinion often misinterpreted, the guarantee of religious freedom by the First Amendment to the US Constitution through the country's history. He begins by describing the milieu from which the Bill of Rights--the first ten amendments--emerged and the process by which it was written and adopted. Annotation ©2008 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)