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Guests | October 15, 2009

A Few Initial and Not-Comprehensive Meditations on Group Novels

1 comment By Michelle Wildgen

I am a sucker for a book about a group. What reminded me of this was Joanna Smith Rakoff's A Fortunate Age, her homage to Mary McCarthy's endlessly re-readable... Continue »

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Elaine, September 23, 2007

In a nutshell, the message of this extremely interesting and well-written book is that the Supreme Court has enormous power over our lives and yet we typically know very little about the 9 men and women who constitute the court. Toobin provides us with portraits of each of the justices who served during recent years. Some were drawn through what seem to be extensive interviews while others were pieced together from their aides and observations. He underscores the well-known fact that once they are appointed to the Court (for life) a justice may turn out to be something other than expected. We've known that, but his clear assessments serve to make it more concrete.

One interesting (and surprising to me) portrait that emerged was that of Sandra Day O'Connor who Toobin obviously admired greatly. In fact he elevates her to the most important woman in American history. I don't think I buy that - obviously important but what about all those who came before her, like the suffragettes, who allowed her to have any real role? I also found it interesting that her role in the 2000 election didn't entirely sour Toobin in her.

But overall, this is a fascinating look at the "Supremes" written by someone with the perfect combination of impeccable credentials and interesting literary style.

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