The title of Jeffrey Toobin's The Oath refers to Chief Justice John Robert's infamous flubbing of the presidential oath when he swore in Barack Obama in 2009. Toobin begins with that celebrated misstep, then looks back to examine the backgrounds and early careers of the President and Chief Justice, then goes on to chronicle the last few years of Court history. This book is a sort of sequel to or continuation of Toobin's earlier work The Nine, which examined the Court from about 1990 to 2005. Both The Nine and The Oath are invaluable guides to what often seems the most mysterious, if not impenetrable, of the three branches of the US government.

Toobin excels in his ability to explain the most abstract of legal arguments in an easily accessible way. He is also a master of the telling anecdote and the short biographical sketch. I was fascinated by his summaries of the early lives and careers of President Obama, Chief Justice Roberts, and Justices Sotomayor and Kagan. In The Oath Toobin covers Roberts' tenure as Chief Justice, and provides many fascinating details about the way the Chief Justice works with the other justices, usually combining with the four other conservatives to carry the day on decisions like Citizens United but sometimes, as with the health care decision, joining the four moderate/liberals in an attempt to maintain the Court's independence and freedom from political attack.

The nine justices have a great deal of influence on the lives of Americans, but few of us know much about them. Toobin gives us some insights into their personalities, life histories, and philosophies. He also, and this is probably the most valuable insight in The Oath, gives us some perspective into the probable future course of the Court, as the Chief Justice prepares for a career that could stretch for two more decades at least and as both liberal and conservative justices grow old and inevitably are replaced. It seems clear that there will be more controversial decisions like Citizens United in the next few years, and that it will be even more important for Americans to understand how the Supreme Court functions. Jeffrey Toobin's books The Nine and The Oath will be essential reading for years to come.