Amazon.com Review
Bernard Schwartz's history treats the Court as "both a mirror and a motor--reflecting the development of the society which it serves and helping to move that society in the direction of the dominant jurisprudence of the day." Beginning with the 17th-century writings of Sir Edward Coke, which shaped much of the legal thinking of America's Founding Fathers, Schwartz considers each of the major eras of the Supreme Court's tenure, from its first term in 1790 (held in New York City) to the Rehnquist years. There are also four chapters that deal specifically with watershed cases: Dred Scott v. Sandford, Lochner v. New York, Brown v. Board of Education, and Roe v. Wade. Schwartz marshals a substantial amount of historical information to carry the story forward without getting stuck on minutiae.
Review
"Schwartz's book is not just for legal scholars; here he differentiates between the various Courts by chief justices, fleshing out the personalities, the scholastic backgrounds, and the philosophies of the jurists and giving law students and history buffs alike the lowdown on those who have shaped U.S. laws into the present....All the important cases, from Brown v. Board of Education to Roe vs. Wade, are explained in simple English. With its plain talk about complicated legal issues and its handy appendix, this book is a gem."―Booklist
"Excellent text!"―Charles C. Perkins, Fisher College
"This is a first-class history of the Supreme Court by an author who writes well, and it should provide a solid background for students who wish to study the Court rather than just read excerpts from opinions."―Dr. Robert W. Langran, Villanova University
"An excellent account of our still least-visible yet no longer least-dangerous branch of the national government. In what is the best one-volume history of the U.S. Supreme Court, Schwartz guides the reader on an impressive, informative journey through the court's work over its two centuries of existence....Schwartz's latest scholarly contribution to the literature of the Supreme Court is required reading, and not just for lawyers or law professors. Highly recommended."―Library Journal (starred review)
"A well-written account [that] takes us from the beginnings of the American judical system down to the present."―The New York Times Book Review
"A thorough, balanced, and readable chronological overview of the highest court in the land. He mixes biographical sketches of justices like John Marshall with insightful analyses of major decisions, offering also a close look at four watershed cases, e.g., those regarding desegregation and abortion. Schwartz's account of the modern court, especially that headed by Warren, is lively and savvy, with a moderate-liberal slant."―Publishers Weekly
"This compact yet comprehensive volume fills a special niche in writings about the Supreme Court and Constitutional law. Its detailed, yet manageable, information and analysis illuminate the critical role that the Court has played throughout U.S. history as the final arbiter of constitutional meaning and, hence, the ultimate guarantor of civil liberties and civil rights."―Nadine Strosser, Professor of Law, New York Law School, and President, American Civil Liberties Union
"Lots of writers have exhaustively mined the subject of judicial activism since Holmes's' appointment to the U.S. Supreme Court. Few Scholars have understood the nineteenth-century tradition from which twentieth-century activism emerged. Professor Schwartz has given us in twelve pages the most insightful, historically sound, intelligible analysis of the Dred Scott case ever written. Unlike mathematicians, there are no brilliant young writers; brilliant writers are old and experienced writers, and this is the crowning achievement of Professor Schwartz's long and distinguished career."―Richard Neely, Justice of the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals, author of How Courts Govern America
"Throughout our history, Justices of the Supreme Court have frequently affected our lives and fortunes to a greater extent than presidents and congresspersons. Bernard Schwartz has performed the monumental task of familiarizing us, in a readable manner, with the careers and works of those who served on the highest court in the land. The Schwartz Supreme Court history belongs in the library of all who seek to better understand our democratic way of life."―Stanley Mosk, Justice of the Supreme Court of California
"[An] elegantly written one-volume history....A lively narrative that springs to life through the introduction of key cases and colorful figures....Highly readable....It is, by far, the best one-volume history we have of the Court."―Kermit Hall, The Ohio State University
"In a well-written account takes us from the beginnings of the American judicial system...to the present."―New York Times Book Review
"Bernard Schwartz says he set out to write a good one-volume history of the Supreme Court, and he has done a masterful job of achieving that goal. Schwartz has managed to give life to the Court by spinning a story that encompasses a variety of integrated themes: the growth of Supreme Court power, the ebbs and flows of the Court's performance, the character and philosophy of individual justices, and developments in legal doctrine."―Paul Kens, Southwest Texas State University
About the Author
Bernard Schwartz is Chapman Distinguished Professor of Law at the University of Tulsa, and is the author of forty books on the law and the history of the Supreme Court.
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