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Justice Brennan: The Great Conciliator

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Justice Brennan spent more than thirty years on the Supreme Court. He joined the Warren Court, decried by some as "liberal activists". He served with distinction there, on the Burger Court, and finally the Rehnquist Court (which some decry as reactionary conservative activists). On all three, he regularly was the man who spoke for the Court on many of the important issues of the times.

The enduring question is "How could this man mold and shape such disparate groups of Justices to the point where he wrote some of the most significant majority opinions of our time?" With typical modesty, Justice Brennan said, that he learned early how to count to five.

Rod Clark does a masterful job in his chronicle of the life, the influences, the context and the enduring legacy of Justice Brennan. He was a trail blazer in a host of areas of jurisprudence: First Amendment law, criminal defendants rights and women's issues. He has authored dozens of opinions affirming rights which we now take for granted. All this from the man who said "I don't expect to distinguish myself on the Court".

A true American original. The kind of person who helped make this country great. A wonderful and easy read.