Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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27 of 30 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Truth matters, else nothing matters, October 30, 2000
It's no accident that the title of "Strange Justice" is a play on words. In one context, the authors believe Anita Hill encountered strange justice at the hands of the Senate Judiciary Committee during her appearance at the 1991 confirmation hearings for Clarence Thomas (who prevailed and now sits on the Supreme Court). In a second context, they present ample evidence for considering Mr. Thomas a rather strange man, and hence a rather strange Justice as well.Hill claimed that Thomas said things to her which most people would consider offensive in any setting. Add to this that the actual setting was the workplace, that Thomas was her boss, and that he was chairman of the EEOC, the agency responsible for nationwide tracking of employment-related sexual harassment complaints. At the time of the televised hearings, my wife and I had a strong impression that Ms. Hill was telling the truth. Opinion on the Judiciary committee appeared to follow political lines, with Chairman Biden shuttling between the two sides like an amiable ping-pong ball, ever conscious of the risks implicit in taking a stand. Although Ms. Hill's testimony did not prevent Thomas's confirmation, all the senators made it clear that they considered her allegations very serious. Thomas denied everything and Hill retracted nothing, so there's a 100 percent certainty of rampant lying by one of them. Does this book do anything to clear up the question? I think it does, for one powerful reason. A number of named friends and colleagues of Thomas, both male and female, confirm for the record that he had a prior history of private and public behavior entirely consistent with Ms. Hill's complaints. In an extended investigation, these facts would have come out. There were many reasons why that didn't happen, not the least of which was Hill's appearance at the last hour. If you are interested in the simple truth of the matter, and are willing to plow through the political and sociological underpinnings attached to it, I recommend the book.
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25 of 28 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Hypocracy, cynicism, and raw political muscle, July 18, 2001
I was prompted to read "Stange Justice" after reading the press about David Brock's recent confession disavowing his slander of Anita Hill in "The Real Anita Hill". Interestingly, the interim between the Thomas Supreme Court justice hearings and the present make this study more interesting. Since the president who manipulated Clarence Thomas onto the Supreme Court is the current president's father, many of those involved in the lobbying and selling of Clarence Thomas are operatives in the present presidential administration. After reading this account readers will find this particularly discouraging, as clearly they have had no accountability for the many miscarriages of justice which are documented.This chronicle of the Thomas nomination places the Bush and Reagan administratons in an extremely unattractive light. However, as the two authors are senior editors with the "Wall Street Journal" this cannot be dismissed as a one sided liberal diatribe. "Strange Justice" is fair and balanced, and gives appropriate "credit" to the democrats for their timidity in failing to respond to the many opportunities to prevent Thomas's confirmation. There was bittersweet justice in that many of the "moderate" democrats who negotiated with the Bush administration due to imminent relection concerns ultimately ended up being defeated by constituents disgusted by their acquiescence in having allowed Thomas's approval. "Strange Justice" does engage in a bit of pop psychology, drawing conclusions regarding how Thomas's childhood and career have molded his political philosophy. In summary, they describe an unhappy childhood resulting in a bitter, warped man with an immense chip on his shoulder. However, the Republicans made his origins fair game by selling Thomas on the basis of his noble, modest origins and "remarkable" success story. The authors are considerably more generous to Anita Hill, whose questionable judgement they attribute to naiviete. However, they also make a convincing case regarding an understandable reticience to respond to sexual harassment, as evidenced by the shameful way she was slandered by machinery of the Bush administration. This is an important and chilling book. Unfortunately, it only leaves you more cynical about the machinations of our government.
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12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A triumph of Ambition., December 27, 2002
Strange Justice tells the story of the strange choice of Clarence Thomas as supreme court justice, and the strange from of justice that Anita Hill encountered when she tried to tell what she knew about him.The book is well written and seems to be thoroughly researched. There are copious end notes detailing the sources the authors used, and the interviews they were granted. The authors leave no doubt that they believe that Anita Hill was sexually harassed. They also believe that Clarence Thomas should not be a supreme court justice. Perhaps someone better informed than I would be less easily persuaded, but I found their arguments convincing. That however is not the reason to read this book. This book is worth reading for the amazing story of how aggressive and well organized the Republicans were, and how inept and naive the Democrats were. The Republicans spared no effort in organizing a national campaign to get their nominee approved, despite the fact that his only qualification was ambition. The cynicism is astounding. The Democrats on the other hand had no idea what was going on till it was too late. Even when Anita Hill presented them with an opportunity to derail the nomination of the reactionary Thomas they were too timid and passive to take advantage of it. The result was that the unqualified Thomas is now a supreme court justice, and Hill was savaged in the hearings. The changes in the perception of sexual harassment as a result of these events are only briefly discussed. I would have liked to see more discussion of the after effects, and less of Thomas record at the EEOC.
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