Wednesday, February 14, 2007

Recommended Supreme Court books

A couple of weeks ago I reviewed Jeffrey Rosen's new book, The Supreme Court: The Personalities and Rivalries That Defined America. Now he has come up with a list of favored Court-related books for The Week magazine.

Two of the books on his list:
John Marshall by Jean Edward Smith

The best modern biography of America’s greatest chief justice. Because of his genial personality and temperament, Marshall won over colleagues of different ideological stripes and transformed the weak and divided court into a strong and unanimous one.


Becoming Justice Blackmun by Linda Greenhouse

A vivid narrative of a deteriorating friendship. Associate Justice Harry Blackmun and Chief Justice Warren Burger were childhood friends who came to mistrust each other on the court. Both men were undone by their vanity and personal insecurities.
Read about all six titles Rosen named.

--Marshal Zeringue