The Supreme Court: A new edition of the Chief Justice's classic history

Reviewed 7/21/2005 I was surprised to read that some readers found this book a dry read. On the contrary, I would propose that Chief Justice Rehnquist is a wonderful writer who provides a short masterpiece on the history of the Court. Two perspectives on the history of the Court create the primary structure of the book: 1) Rehnquist reviews specific cases in chronological order that have...more

Reviewed 7/21/2005 I was surprised to read that some readers found this book a dry read. On the contrary, I would propose that Chief Justice Rehnquist is a wonderful writer who provides a short masterpiece on the history of the Court. Two perspectives on the history of the Court create the primary structure of the book: 1) Rehnquist reviews specific cases in chronological order that have created the most imporant body of law used by the Supreme Court and required to be followed by the lower courts as they conduct their appellate work. He weaves in the personalities of the Court and sometimes of the Presidents who impact the Court, along with the historical perspective driving these issues by using a narrative structure. We are told stories rather than being forced to review lists of dates and people. This portion of the book also describes how the Court accepts cases through the eyes of a young court clerk, William Rehnquist himself. 2) There are a couple of chapters in the back of the book that explains how the court conducts its work, such as oral argument and how the court decides cases and delegates the writing of rulings and opinions. While interesting to read Rehnquist's perspecive, Bob Woodward's "The Brethern: Inside the Supreme Court" provides a more complete picture of the inner-workings of the Court. Justice Rehnquist surprised me with the lack of ideology contained in this book. As opposed to Mr. Gingrich's new book that is basically a propaganda tract rife with deceptions, Rehnquist provides a mostly honest and fair assessment of not only the perspective of conservatives like him, but also the liberal side. Rehnquist, like Kenneth Starr's "First Among Equals", can be counted on to provide an accurate protrayal of the issues worked out by previous courts. Mr. Rehnquist also surprised me with his writing talent, while his opinions have always been first rate reading, they are those of an advocate for a certain position which filter-out competing positions. This book is truly a well-written, honest look at the history of the court; Rehnquist provides respectful commentary of competing positions. This book is one of my primary resources I've continuously used over the years when I require some insight into a past case, court, or justice.    hide