The Nine: Inside the Secret World of the Supreme Court by Jeffrey Toobin
I know what you are thinking– the Supreme Court– yawnsville.
Wrong. This fast paced narrative covers the Rehnquist Court, whose justices served together from 1994 to 2005, the longest period without change in the history of the court. Ginsburg, Souter, Thomas, Breyer, Scalia, Stevens, Rehnquist, O’Connor, and Kennedy.
Toobin adroitly dissects select landmark cases, including the infamous Florida recount (a low point in the dignity of the Court), as well as providing intriguing profiles of the individual justices.
WHO WROTE IT
Jeffrey Toobin is a staff writer at The New Yorker, senior legal analyst at CNN, and the author of such bestsellers as Too Close to Call: The Thirty-Six day Battle to Decide the 2000 Election, A Vast Conspiracy: The Real Story Of the Sex Scandal That Nearly Brought Down a President, and The Run of His Life: The People v. O.J. Simpson.
WHAT OTHER REVIEWERS SAY
The New York Times: “The Nine not only provides a vivid narrative history of the Court’s recent history, but also give the reader an intimate look at the individual justices, showing how personality, judicial philosophy, and personal alliances can inform decisions that have huge consequences for the entire country.… Driven by the author’s assured narrative voice, The Nine is as informative as it is fascinating, as insightful as it is readable. “