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The Supreme Court: The Personalities and Rivalries That Defined America Audiobook
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(3.06) - 302 listener ratings
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Publisher Description
A leading Supreme Court expert recounts the personal and philosophical rivalries that forged our nation's highest court and continue to shape our daily lives.
The Supreme Court is the most mysterious branch of government, and yet the Court is at root a human institution, made up of very bright people with very strong egos, for whom political and judicial conflicts often become personal.
In this compelling work of character-driven history, Jeffrey Rosen recounts the history of the Court through the personal and philosophical rivalries on the bench that transformed the law-and by extension, our lives. The story begins with the great Chief Justice John Marshall and President Thomas Jefferson, cousins from the Virginia elite whose differing visions of America set the tone for the Court's first hundred years. The tale continues after the Civil War with Justices John Marshall Harlan and Oliver Wendell Holmes, who clashed over the limits of majority rule. Rosen then examines the Warren Court era through the lens of the liberal icons Hugo Black and William O. Douglas, for whom personality loomed larger than ideology. He concludes with a pairing from our own era, the conservatives William H. Rehnquist and Antonin Scalia, only one of whom was able to build majorities in support of his views.
Through these four rivalries, Rosen brings to life the perennial conflict that has animated the Court-between those justices guided by strong ideology and those who forge coalitions and adjust to new realities. He illuminates the relationship between judicial temperament and judicial success or failure. The stakes are nothing less than the future of American jurisprudence.
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"Billed as the companion book to the PBS series on the supreme court. I found it very interesting. The author juxtaposes personalities on the court and compares their effectiveness. Technically the fisrt paring is not two justices but Jefferson and Marshall. "
— Robert (4 out of 5 stars)
The Supreme Court Listener Reviews
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" I absolutely loved this book, but I am a supreme court junkie. Others might not enjoy all the minutiae. "
— Catherine, 2/20/2014 -
" I liked the comparative nature of this book. "
— Zack, 2/16/2014 -
" I put this down about two or three years ago and am just now getting back to literally, the last 40 pages. It was not as good as The Nine by Jeffrey Toobin. "
— Ashley, 2/14/2014 -
" Excellent. I love the behind the scenes look. It's hard to imagine such icons as human being and this book really give you that. "
— Tracy, 2/8/2014 -
" This is a particularly bad book. It is poorly written and very ideological. The more right wing the Justice the better they are in this book. "
— doug, 2/1/2014 -
" Rosen emphasizes the difference between doctrinaire judges who try to impose their personal legal philosophy on the court and those who try to build consensus on the court, coming down firmly on the side of those judges who compromise their views for the sake of majority or unanimous decisions. He picks out pairs of justices whose personalities and philosophies contrast in a way that seems suspiciously contrived, as if they acted as they did to satisfy Rosen's thesis. It's almost as if Rosen is demonstrating what is wrong with imposing personal belief on the court by doing it in his book. Strange. If you can get over this contrivance (or better yet, ignore it) it's still a well written and entertaining book, particularly if you are unfamiliar with some of the more colorful characters in Supreme Court history. "
— Thomas, 1/17/2014 -
" Billed as the companion book to the PBS series on the supreme court. I found it very interesting. The author juxtaposes personalities on the court and compares their effectiveness. Technically the fisrt paring is not two justices but Jefferson and Marshall. "
— Robert, 1/14/2014 -
" Hey, I liked it. I think I've got a man crush on Chief Justice Roberts. "
— Zachary, 12/25/2013 -
" I wonder what non-lawyers might get from it. They wouldn't understand my little Mona Lisa smile through the Harlan/Holmes wars, the commerce clause battles, and so forth. "
— Nancy, 12/9/2013 -
" read-2007 "
— Andrew, 12/1/2013 -
" My Favorite book on the Supreme Court. It focuses on Justices whose proper temperment impacted court history. "
— Cory, 11/25/2013 -
" Geared more towards academia than the casual reader, still provides an interesting look at what happens when judicial philospiphies collide. I found the section contrasting Justices Black and Douglas particularly interesting. "
— Dan, 10/28/2013 -
" Good enough about rivalries and the lives of these pivotal justices (and 1 President)- John Marshall-Thomas Jefferson, John Harlan-Oliver Wendell Holmes, William Douglas-Hugo Black; and William Rehnquist-Anthony Scalia "
— Mark, 11/28/2012 -
" I'm a SC junkie. What can I say? "
— Hope, 10/28/2012 -
" This book did a great job of examining the evolution of the court through the pivotal times on the court by displaying the conflict between two justices and expanding it to look at the court as a whole. "
— Brandon, 10/27/2012 -
" Even with the audiobook, I couldn't get through it. "
— Amy, 8/2/2012 -
" So far so good. Very enlightening about our justices. "
— Margaret, 8/2/2012 -
" Best book I have read in years. "
— James, 3/6/2012 -
" Good insight into the supreme court, past and present. "
— Crrrazyhawk, 11/16/2011 -
" Not as good as The Nine or as The Metaphysical Club, but a really interesting take on jurisprudence and judicial temperament and how they've shaped the legacy of the Court "
— Delacey, 11/6/2011 -
" First book on the Court that helped me understand the politics of voting on cases. Very enlightning for me even though I thought I knew a lot about the court! "
— Roy, 7/19/2011 -
" Not as good as The Nine or as The Metaphysical Club, but a really interesting take on jurisprudence and judicial temperament and how they've shaped the legacy of the Court "
— Delacey, 5/22/2010 -
" First book on the Court that helped me understand the politics of voting on cases. Very enlightning for me even though I thought I knew a lot about the court! "
— Roy, 6/17/2009 -
" I absolutely loved this book, but I am a supreme court junkie. Others might not enjoy all the minutiae. "
— Catherine, 1/4/2009 -
" Good enough about rivalries and the lives of these pivotal justices (and 1 President)- John Marshall-Thomas Jefferson, John Harlan-Oliver Wendell Holmes, William Douglas-Hugo Black; and William Rehnquist-Anthony Scalia "
— Mark, 12/18/2008 -
" Adroitly done. And I always enjoy Jefferson-bashing. "
— Barron, 12/10/2008 -
" I'm a SC junkie. What can I say? "
— Hope, 9/24/2008 -
" Good insight into the supreme court, past and present. "
— Crrrazyhawk, 9/11/2008
About Jeffrey Rosen
Suzanne Toren, award-winning narrator, has over thirty years of experience in narration. She was named a “Golden Voice” by AudioFile magazine in 2019. She has won the American Foundation for the Blind’s Scourby Award for Narrator of the Year, AudioFile magazine named her the 2009 Best Voice in Nonfiction & Culture, and she is the recipient of multiple Earphones Awards. She performs on and off Broadway and in regional theaters and has appeared on Law & Order and in various soap operas.
About Alan Sklar
Alan Sklar, a graduate of Dartmouth, has excelled in his career as a freelance voice actor. Named a Best Voice of 2009 by AudioFile magazine, his work has earned him several Earphones Awards, a Booklist Editors’ Choice Award (twice), a Publishers Weekly Listen-Up Award, and Audiobook of the Year by ForeWord magazine. He has also narrated thousands of corporate videos for clients such as NASA, Sikorsky Aircraft, IBM, Dannon, Pfizer, AT&T, and SONY.