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Wild Bill: The Legend and Life of William O. Douglas

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This book will probably stand as the definitive examination of William O. Douglas as a person. Having undertaken over a decade of research, Murphy has produced an exhaustive (though not exhausting) account of Douglas' personal life, from his boyhood in eastern Washington through his early years as a lawyer, law school professor, and New Deal administrator, to his years on the Court. While the basic details have been known for nearly a quarter century, thanks to James Simon's earlier biography of the justice, Independent journey: The life of William O. Douglas, Murphy provides many new details gleaned from his research in the Douglas papers (which were closed when Simon wrote his book) and his extensive interviews with people who knew the justice offer several illustrative anecdotes. The result is an important corrective to the idealized image Douglas constructed of himself in his many autobiographical accounts, recounting his womanizing, his politicking, and his terrible treatment of his staff with considerable thoroughness. Murphy's descriptions of Douglas's failed campaigns to become the Democratic nominee for president are particularly fascinating, and alone justify the price of the book.

In his effort to debunk the Douglas myths, though, the author adopts an excessively negative interpretation of the facts. Murphy claims, for example, that contrary to Douglas's assertions he did not suffer polio as a child, yet without definitive medical evidence to the contrary, such a topic can only remain an open question at best. Murphy's charge that Douglas unjustifiably inflated his time in an officer's training unit in college into army service further demonstrates Murphy's assumption of the worst from Douglas and was subsequently refuted by other scholars, who argued that Douglas' interpretation of his service was a plausible one. Such matters call Murphy's overall judgment of the justice into question, as do the open questions that his book fails to address. If Douglas was such a jerk to his secretaries and his clerks, why did they continue to work for him? What was it about Douglas that led friends to continue to support him both personally and financially? Reading this book doesn't answer these questions, nor does it reveal (as a reviewer elsewhere has pointed out) that some of his clerks became and remained his friends - gaps which mar further Murphy's presentation of Douglas' personal life.

The major problem with the book, however, lies in Murphy's episodic and superficial examination of Douglas' jurisprudence. Murphy's intriguing argument is that Douglas' initial opinions were written with an eye towards positioning the justice for a run for the presidency, yet he bases this contention on a selective examination of only a few decisions. Moreover, he offers no new philosophy behind Douglas' decisions once his hopes for the White House disappeared after the 1960 election, nor does he show the extent to which his jurisprudence - self interested or otherwise - played a role in shaping constitutional law. Many significant cases from his lengthy tenure on the Court are either barely referenced or even go completely unmentioned. Such flaws are glaring considering that it is Douglas' tenure on the Supreme Court which makes him historically significant to begin with, and ultimately diminish the contribution this book makes to the historiography of the Court.

While these criticisms should not discourage people interested in Douglas from reading this enjoyable book, they should be taken into account in their assessment of Murphy's overall view of his subject. Though Wild Bill offers much new insight into the life of this fascinating man, this biography is not the last word on the justice or his impact in American constitutional history.

Bruce Allen Murphy's "Wild Bill" left me feeling conflicted. Unlike the other reviewers so far, I can't say I loved the book, or that I hated it. Murphy's research is exhaustive and impressive, and his narrative powers do make the amazing story of Douglas' life read more like a novel. He deserves much credit for peeling away the layers of myth that Douglas laid over the true story of his life. At the end, though, I came away feeling that the good that Douglas accomplished somehow got lost in the bargain. There must have been some reason a couple of generations looked to him as a champion of individual liberties. It's there, all right, but it seems to almost disappear in an ocean of negatives. Overall, though, the good outweighs the flaws; this is a worthwhile book for anyone who wants to know more about Douglas, the Supreme Court, or one of the most tumultuous eras in American life.

This large, but extremely readable biography of one of the 20th Century's most colorful figures is an amazing story! Before I read "Wild Bill", I was aware of the legend of Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas--his liberal activism, support of the environment, and, of course, his four wives. But, when I read the book, which is based on wonderfully detailed research, and written more like a novel than an academic work, I was amazed at what I learned about the man himself. I wasn't surprised that there was more womanizing going on than the contemporary press had revealed. What I found particularly interesting, though, was how such a famous and apparently successful public figure felt he had to embellish his personal history for public consumption. For example, who would have questioned the veracity of a Supreme Court Justice when he told us that he suffered from polio as a small child, or served in Europe during World War I? Bruce Allen Murphy did--and his book not only gives us the true facts of William O. Douglas's life, but helps us understand what drove him to exaggerate his life story, and why he remained unfulfilled despite his many accomplishments. For those of us who want to know how he discovered these hidden truths, Murphy provides copious and detailed endnotes, but none of that intrudes on the more casual reader. One need not be a Court follower to enjoy this amazing story--just one who enjoys understanding the all-too-human insecurities and foibles of even the most famous among us. If you like Caro, Morris or McCullough, you will not want to miss this book!

While I cannot comment on the factual accuracy of the book, as questioned by other reviewers, I found "Wild Bill" to be a delightful read. The book purports to be a biography, but has the ease of a novel.

This is a lengthy book, but one that can be picked-up and read off-and-on, when time allows. It paints a wonderful picture of the early years and life of Justice William O. Douglas who grew up in Washington state.

Whether perfectly factual or not, the book is a fun read.

It seems obvious that a tremendous amount of work went into this biography and I feel that the results were absolutely worth that effort and thus I would recommend this book highly. And what do we learn about Justice Douglas? As a husband (four times over), he was terrible. As a parent, he was similarly terrible, enough so that his kids more or less disowned him, and rightfully so. As a boss (to his law clerks and secretaries), he was atrocious to work for. Indeed, looking at the "private Douglas", there is almost nothing admirable about the man. On the other hand, looking at "Justice Douglas", we see a hard-working, extremely bright man, whose views on the Amendments in the Bill of Rights (especially the First Amendment) made him the champion of the poor, the dispossed, the repressed and the oppressed. Moreover, with the benefit of hindsight, I would say that most of his liberal leaning opinions (whether in the majority or in dissent) have held up well over the years, especially in the First Amendment area. Of course, one might conclude that certain issues he had to deal with, particularly on the race front (say, whether a poll tax in the South was constitutional) were less tricky than issues we confront today such as reverse discrimination under the guise of diversity (such as the U. of Michigan Law School case currently awaiting decision by the Spreme Court). It is interesting to note however that in one of his last cases on the bench in 1974, he indicated that he had no tolerance any kind of quotas, even if dressed up in the lingo of diversity.

On a more general note, I would say that writing a biography of a judge is in some ways more challenging than writing the biography of other famous people from other professions like, say, entertainers, athletes, performers or even politicians. For those kinds of subjects, when they "doing their profession", whether for better of worse, the public is watching and, more importantly, reacting. Thus, one can compare the actions of the subject with the response of the public, whether the subject is on the way up or on the way down. However, with a judge, even an influential Justice like Douglas, when he is doing his job, he is simply writing opinions. While it is interesting to see what those opinions are (particularly if a juducial philosophy changes over time as Douglas' clearly did), to summarize or recite all those opinions may not, in the hands of the wrong person, make for such a fascinating biography. However I feel that Murphy did a masterly job.

Mr. Murphy's book is perhaps the easiest 500+ pages I have ever read. It was suprisingly humorous. Some of the aspects Wlliam O. Douglas' life were hilarious, the type of stories that you could not make up yourself. Mr. Murphy, though, was rather generous to Douglas. He could have easily written the book in a manner that would reflect negative bias on Douglas top to bottom. However, he decided to lay out the facts and let the reader decide. I applaud him for that. Douglas was a great character, and Mr. Murphy presents him well. Great work. This book is well worth your time.

Bruce Allen Murphy's biography of William O. Douglas is not only groundbreaking, it is a truly amazing effort. It is a surprisingly easy read--in fact I found it hard to put down. He tells us in his author's note that he spent 15 years researching this work, and his careful efforts show. He talked to people who knew Douglas well, dug through newspapers from his subject's childhood homes, went through diaries and photo albums from Douglas's friends and acquaintances, and has told us the true story of Douglas's life.

Not many of us could be as accurate about our own lives as Murphy is about Douglas's. We tend to gloss over the parts of our lives that we wish were different. Douglas, however, did more than that. He invented a life that was the way he wanted the world to see him, and made it public through his autobiographies. Murphy has discovered the person beneath the myth that Douglas had build up about himself, and explains the reasons for Douglas's tall tales. It is high time we stop thinking of our Supreme Court justices as gods on Olympus, and realized that they are just as human as the rest of us. To understand Douglas's need to make his public image different than his real life is to understand the man--not just the judge.

This book is not just a really compelling biography, however. It is a fascinating history of 20th century American politics. It reminds us of where we have been, the struggles that we have survived for equality, freedom, and the environment. It also serves as a lesson for the future. Douglas foresaw many issues that are important to us today.
Murphy's book is as brilliant as his subject was prescient. It gives us some important lessons as well as being a highly entertaining read.

MOST HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!!!

The author has done a good job researching the way a biographer should--he checks sources which some might find too tedious to dig out. So he has come up with information which shows that it is not wise to rely on autobiography for the facts in some csses. The legal analysis in regard to Douglas's work on the Court is not very profound, but I don't suppose most readers want the detail which a good law review would give to the very interesting work the Supreme Court did during Douglas' time on the bench. The unadmirable aspects of his personal life and character are set forth with devastating detail, though the author I think admires some of good work on the Court which his subject did. Anyone interested in the Supreme Court will find this book greatly absorbing, and anyone interested in the amazing events surrounding the selection of Truman as FDR's running mate in 1944 cannot omit reading this book--and looking at the photos! In this respect, if you have not read Choosing Truman: The Democratic Convention of 1944 by Robert H. Ferrell (read by me 17 May 2002) it might be wise to read it first, then read this book for new light on the events of July 1944. Reading this biography will be an event.

Murphy is a tremendous biographer who places his subjects into the context of their times -- politically, socially, and historically. His work on Fortas is a masterpiece of political drama and this work is equally as strong. What is clear from the pages is that Murphy does not much like Douglas, but still respects his entertaining life and important place in American history.

As another reviewer has pointed out, the author is determined to debunk many of the Douglas myths. Yet this needs to be done. The 'polio' and 'WW1' veteran myths created by Douglas himself are as unsightly as they are unseemly, as was much of his personal life and relationship with others. This is not being overly negative however. This is telling the truth, and the author's sources and documentation on these scores is very good. Bill Douglas, as a person, was unquestionably an SOB to be around unless you were at least his peer. The author does present an admiring portrait of Douglas' jurisprudence, especially from the Rosenberg case forward, but this could/should have been done in much more detail. The book itself is well-written from a technical point of view, reads fast, and is (unlike too many recent publications) well-edited. I do believe, however, that this is a stepping stone book and that the definitive biography of this finest U.S. Justice has yet to be written--one with more scholarly emphasis on his jurisprudence. It will probably be a multi-volume work.