CHIEF JUSTICE: A Biography of Earl Warren [Hardcover]

Ed Cray (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 3, 1997

Based on interviews and unprecedented access to Warren's papers, a biography of the former Chief Justice reveals his rivalry with California conservatives, how some of his decisions were shaped by political happenings, and the workings of the Warren court. 20,000 first printing.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

A former prosecutor and moderate Republican governor of California when appointed to the Supreme Court in 1953, Earl Warren (1891-1974) surprised everyone by leading it in an increasingly liberal direction. Brown v. Board of Education, Miranda v. Arizona, and other key decisions bolstered the rights of individuals and committed the federal government to acting in support of them. Journalist/historian Ed Cray's detailed account depicts an admirable, self-assured man who arrived slowly at positions, driven not by ideology but by an old-fashioned sense of morality that asked, "Is it fair?"

From Library Journal

With this excellent biography, Cray (journalism, Univ. of Southern California) offers new insight into the chief justice, a key American political figure of the 20th century. Warren served as a district attorney, attorney general of California, twice governor of that state, 1948 Republican vice presidential nominee, chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, and chair of the Warren Commission, which investigated the assassination of President Kennedy. Cray carefully analyzes Warren's central role in the development of World War II-era California and the fight for progressive legislation within the Republican Party. He shows how Warren's leadership on the Supreme Court expanded the scope of constitutional civil liberties and how this emerging judicial activism penetrated major Court decisions, such as Brown v. Board of Education (1954) and New York Times v. Sullivan (1964). Highly recommended for all libraries. [BOMC main selection.]?Steven Puro, St. Louis Univ.
-?Steven Puro, St. Louis Univ.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 608 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster (June 3, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0684808528
• ISBN-13: 978-0684808529
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.4 x 1.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #761,306 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Compact book on a voluminous subject, July 2, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: CHIEF JUSTICE: A Biography of Earl Warren (Hardcover)

To write a comprehensive book on the life of Earl Warren and include the numerous controversial court decisions would produce a volume so thick, reading it would be exhaustive-and probably boring. Ed Cray has successfully limited this biography to the details of Warren's life without dragging the reader through the typical grandparent and parent's life stories. His overview of the major court decisions, their impact on society and some of the Court's inner battles have been successfully handled.

The reader should know however, that this is not an unbiased book. Cray worships Warren and is very reluctant to criticize him. (The author takes Warren to task over Warren's support of Japanese internment in WWII but I suspect this criticism early on in the book is due to Warren later regret in his involvement.) Among the dedications, is "To Civil Libertarians All"-while there is nothing wrong with that, it points out the author's political bias that is so evident in his writing. Conservatives on the court and in Warren's earlier political life come across badly (especially Felix Frankfurter) and by the end of the book I was cynical as to why Cray constantly referred to Hugo Black as the Alabaman. (Isn't it Alabamian?) None of the other justices were so oft named by the State's origin.

If you love Warren, you'll love this book. If you want an objective and critical look into Warren's life, you might end up frustrated at the author's attempt to over-glorify his subject. Nevertheless, it's still an excellent book.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Man, Great Book, October 3, 2005

By 

Adam Dukovich "colts_19" - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: CHIEF JUSTICE: A Biography of Earl Warren (Hardcover)

Earl Warren grew up in Bakersfield, California. To those of you who've been there, it seems an unlikely place to beget one of the great justices of the 20th century who was known for his ability to continue to mold and change his ideas. However, this comprehensive and excellent biography of Earl Warren, Governor of California and 14th Chief Justice of the United States, shows that he turned out far from where he might have been expected to wind up.

The book starts with Warren's childhood, where he was an above-average student who went into the county courtroom every day because it was too hot outside and became entranced with the law. He would go to UC Berkeley for his undergraduate and law degrees, and after a few odd jobs would wind up as the Alameda County DA, where he made a name for himself by cleaning out organized crime, gambling, and prostitution from the county. His work gave him high visibility, from which to launch his campaign for Attorney General of California, where he would be responsible in the infamous forced internment of Japanese and Japanese-Americans after Pearl Harbor (as the author notes, only near the end of his life did he come to terms with this act). Then, as now, State AG was merely a stepping stone to the Governor's Mansion, to which he won three terms. Although a Republican, he pushed for progressive reforms in many areas: he tried to get all Californians covered for healthcare (and failed), he tried to make college in California excellent and inexpensive (and succeeded), and he tried to pass worker safety and environmental protection legislation (and did both). He was extremely popular in the state, in fact, in 1946 he won the primaries for the Democratic, Republican, and Progressive parties (Under California law at the time, you could file for the nominations of all parties). His reputation as a moderate consensus-builder in a Democratic state who had still accomplished most of what he wanted made him a lock for the Vice-Presidential slot alongside Tom Dewey, which seemed as sure a thing as possible. Unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately) for Warren, the 1948 election was won by Harry Truman in the biggest surprise in American politics. He would run again four years later, in 1952, hoping to be able to become a consensus candidate for President. Instead, he ended up having to surrender his chances due to an insufficient budget and lobbying by Dwight Eisenhower. Ike, however, knew what Warren had given up and promised him the thing that he really wanted: an appointment to the Supreme court, which happened less than a year later, with the passing of Chief Justice Fred Vinson. This is where the book heats up. The book makes clear that Warren was neither an intellectual, nor a brilliant writer nor the possessor of a natural legal intuition. What he did have, though, was the willingness to work very hard, as well as the ability to persuade colleagues to vote with him. His leadership became apparent when the Brown decision was handed down, unanimously. Brown was nearly evenly divided before, however, Warren went to work on his colleagues one at a time and managed to wrangle agreement on what is, aside from Roe v. Wade, the most famous and without a doubt the most celebrated court case of all. Never one to settle with small or half measures, Warren proceeed to establish a broad interpretation of the constitution, guided by a simple moral compass. He knew that any decision could be backed up by reasoning and precedent, so he picked the side he felt was morally right and let his clerks sort it out. The major cases, including Gideon v. Wainwright (establishing a right to an attorney), Miranda v. Arizona (ever seen a cop show?), and Mapp v. Ohio (ensuring state legislatures were determined by population and not by land) were controversial, but now they seem almost natural. Occasionally the court went too far for the public: banishing school prayer sparked a debate that continues to this day, but again, Warren was looking out for fairness--in this case, he wanted no ill-will toward non-believing schoolchildren. As the book notes, very few of the Chief's vast pronouncements have been rolled back by the Burger and Rehnquist courts, and it seems certain by this point that they will have long life in the republic. The book also goes over his involvement in the Warren Commission to investigate the JFK assassination, in some detail. However, some of the most interesting material involves his ability to lead the other disparate justices on the court: moderating the continuing feuds between the liberal activist faction, including Hugo Black and William Douglas; and the judicial restraint supporters like Felix Frankfurter and Robert Jackson.

John Roberts should read closely how Warren managed to provide a model for being a Chief Justice: kind but firm, willing to compromise but continually steering the court in his own direction. Love him or hate him, Warren is rightfully considered among the best Chief Justices, and this book tells why. After reading, it is little wonder that after Warren's departure, and the arrival of the super-political hack Warren Burger, justices like William Brennan, Black and Douglas regarded him as the real chief. Warren was a man who transcended his times: his total lack of prejudice and dedication to preserving the American dream gave him a greater impact on America than Eisenhower or Nixon, his arch-enemy. We could use more men from all persuasions like him.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good overall, but some unanswered questions, October 17, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: CHIEF JUSTICE: A Biography of Earl Warren (Hardcover)

This is probably the best book out there on Earl Warren, covering his life in politics and at the Supreme Court. Ed Cray does a good job explaining the roots of Warren's political beliefs and how he used his political background to exert such a strong influence on the Supreme Court.

Unfortunately, Ed Cray doesn't follow up on at least two issues: Warren's friendships with J. Edgar Hoover and William Knowland. According to the book, when Warren was in California state government he became such good friends with J. Edgar Hoover that he called Hoover "Jay"- yet it seems hard to imagine that Warren's friendship with Hoover survived some of his court decisions. Perhaps it did, but Cray doesn't address the issue. Similarly, it seems that Warren's liberal court decisions would have impacted his friendship with conservative Senator William Knowland, but the book doesn't talk about this, either.