For the eight hundredth anniversary of the Magna Carta, the University of Virginia Press presents the first paperback edition of The Road from Runnymede by A.E. Dick Howard, originally published in 1968. In this volume, Howard explores the ways in which the Magna Carta's concepts, most notably due process, have been absorbed and put into practice by English and especially American society. He goes on to show how the idea of constitutional government evolved in America, moving beyond the foundations laid by the Magna Carta to adapt itself to the new republic's needs.

A classic classroom reference since its 1964 publication, this indispensable volume offers the full text of Magna Carta in English, as well as a chapter-by-chapter discussion of its history and provisions.

In his newly revised commentary on this founding document in the history of constitutionally limited governments, A.E. Dick Howard places the charter in context of the extraordinary surge of constitutionalism in the aftermath of the Cold War. Magna Carta: Text and Commentary is a cogent introduction to Magna Carta that students everywhere can readily appreciate.