So I finally read Linda Greenhouse's book on Justice Blackmun. As she explicitly states at the start of the text, it's not a traditional biography, nor is it comprehensive study of the justice's years on the nation's highest Court. It's something much more personal than that, even though most of the book deals with his years on the Supreme Court. It really is an examination of Harry Blackmun, the man and the justice - how you couldn't neatly separate the two, and how each informed the other over time. You definitely get to know Justice Blackmun, and the workings of the Burger and Rehnquist Courts. And its interesting to see how Blackmun's shifts as justice seem related to the workings of the Burger Court, and Blackmun's relationship with the Chief Justice (who he'd known for over fifty years before joining the Court). In addition, on the areas of the law that she deals with, Greenhouse provides an interesting history of how several major ideas and topics developed at the Court over the years. So while it's not like a lot of other books on the topic, it's insightful, and a work that those interested in Blackmun, Roe v. Wade, or the Burger Court could learn from.
Posted by armand at May 9, 2007 09:35 PM | TrackBack | Posted to Books