The Nine: Inside the Secret World of the Supreme Court

Very readable with interesting stories shedding light on personalities and relationships at the Court.

Reading it now. So far, a very interesting read, and extremely well written. I'm trying to finish it, but I am having to pry it away from my husband, at every turn. His uncle, Justin Cooper was a Supreme Court Justice.

Long and sometimes tedious look at the Supreme Court, how it is assembled, the amazing personalities that make (and have made) it up and the work the members do on a day-to-day and year-to-year basis. But my did I learn a ton. I had no idea how any of this was handled. Nor did I realize how much of a shift has gone on in ideology in the past four years of the court. All I can say is: I'll be...more

Long and sometimes tedious look at the Supreme Court, how it is assembled, the amazing personalities that make (and have made) it up and the work the members do on a day-to-day and year-to-year basis. But my did I learn a ton. I had no idea how any of this was handled. Nor did I realize how much of a shift has gone on in ideology in the past four years of the court. All I can say is: I'll be paying much closer attention from now on.   hide

This book is very well written and quite entertaining. It shows the power that the Supreme Court has as the last word on what the Constitution says. More specifically, the book shows the great responsibility that each President has in choosing the right people to sit on the nation's highest court. The American people can rid themselves of the bad Representative in 2 years, a Senator in 6 years,...more

This book is very well written and quite entertaining. It shows the power that the Supreme Court has as the last word on what the Constitution says. More specifically, the book shows the great responsibility that each President has in choosing the right people to sit on the nation's highest court. The American people can rid themselves of the bad Representative in 2 years, a Senator in 6 years, and a President in 4. A Justice is for life. With that stated the book does a good job at outlining the Conservative strategy to win back power in the Court that culminated with the nominations of Roberts and Alito. It was the fruition of a 25 year plan to shift the ideology of the court to support a more conservative agenda. It seems that the timing of the release of the book with the Election of 08 was a call for people to take into consider that the next President was going to probably appoint the next two justices. In reality, I think it was a warning that if another Conservative President was elected that Roe vs. Wade would be fated to be overturned. We often forget that there are three branches of the national government and 50 separate state governments that all make up our system of government. This leads to excessive emphasize on who are who not is elected President every 4 years. While I do not ascribe the the politics of Mr. Toobin makes obvious in the book, I do salute his attempt to re-introduce the American public to the idea other parts of our government do exist for a reason.   hide

book-length people magazine

Knowing that Toobin, the author, sits on the left of the political divide, allows the reader to filter his prose accordingly. This is a great book and provides fantastic insight into the inner workings of the Supreme Court. I recommend it.

Certainly worth reading. Toobin's book showcases some interesting stories -- some very humorous, such as how Justice Stephen Breyer would talk very loud about cases even within earshot of people in the court cafeteria. But others are more ominous, like the fact the Justice Clarence Thomas uses a screening process to make sure he only receives the most conservative of law clerks....more

Certainly worth reading. Toobin's book showcases some interesting stories -- some very humorous, such as how Justice Stephen Breyer would talk very loud about cases even within earshot of people in the court cafeteria. But others are more ominous, like the fact the Justice Clarence Thomas uses a screening process to make sure he only receives the most conservative of law clerks. (One gatekeeper for Thomas is none other than Professor John Yoo, famed author of former president George W. Bush's torture policy.) I can't quite give this a full five stars simply because Toobin misses the trend of new justices John Roberts and Samuel Alito being a continuation of the strong state's-rights style of judge we saw with William Rehnquist. It's important to note, because Toobin views this style of judgeship to be dead, when in fact it is alive and well. And for those that still don't understand how much pressure former Vice President Dick Cheney put upon the CIA to bring back information to fit his notion for preemptive action in Iraq -- just read this book and the section about how he pressed hard to get his friend Antonin Scalia to become chief justice after Rehnquist's death. Quite scary how much power a person like Cheney held. Pressure was his weapon. (In fact, he even tried to pressure former President George W. Bush into pardoning Scooter Libby.) Overall, this book is as much a classic in what happens behind the veil as Bob Woodward's "The Brethren". It makes you wonder exactly which justices are spilling the beans -- because a few of them surely did.   hide

This was an interesting read. It didn't match the hype that I've heard about it, but it was a good look at the politics of the members of the court. I was particularly interested in reading about the large influence on the court Sandra Day O'Conner had -- much more than I realized. The section on the 2000 election fiasco was also very interesting -- makes me wonder...more

This was an interesting read. It didn't match the hype that I've heard about it, but it was a good look at the politics of the members of the court. I was particularly interested in reading about the large influence on the court Sandra Day O'Conner had -- much more than I realized. The section on the 2000 election fiasco was also very interesting -- makes me wonder how things might have turned out differently in the US and the world if the election results put Gore in.   hide

Excellent book. I am listening on tape. Sandra Day O'Connor was a fascinating lady.