A People's History of the Supreme Court: The Men and Women Whose Cases and Decisions Have Shaped Our Constitution: Revised Edition

To begin with this book was not what I expected or hoped to find. Truth is that it turned out to be something better. Based on its title and description I was hoping to get a book that would tell the story of the real people whose names make up the captions in the landmark cases of the SCOTUS. The book did indeed give me some of the back story for many of these cases and it gave me a whole lot more that I wasn't expecting. I do not know how he did it but the author was able to fill in a lot of background on the justices, who appointed them, why they were appointed and how. It even managed to some how pierce the secrecy SCOTUS is known for to reveal how the voting on many of these important cases was managed and manipulated. I found the book fascinating as a review of the history of our country through the evolution of SCOTUS decisions. This is a somewhat long book and definitely not for the casual reader. In fact, if I have a criticism it is the inclusion at the beginning of a history of the 1787 Constitutional Convention. I cannot imagine anybody wanting to read this book that isn't already sufficiently aware of that history. It was unnecessary. If the author felt that some case needed historical illumination from the convention then a couple of paragraphs when needed could have been added here and there. Another criticism or actually a disappointment is that the book ends during the Clinton administration in 1992 over 20 years ago. Hopefully, the author will update this very enjoyable treatment of the history of the Supreme Court before too long. On the whole I found this book more enlightening than any Con Law class I took in law school.

I have enjoyed reading this history of the Supreme Court. Irons has written a lively and informative history. I would have like to have gotten more of the legal history and a little less of the biographical details. He tends to be quite single-minded in focusing on a specific area of law in each era. Once he covers Marbury v. Madison, his is focused on the implications of the Court for slavery. Once he passes through Reconstruction, we are into labor law. He cherry-picks his topics to satisfy a specific point of view.My biggest complaint is with the copyediting of the Kindle version. It has become a game to highlight every typo that I find. On average, I seem to find at least one per Kindle page. What started out as a distraction has become a game, which is not what I had in mind when I purchased the book.

I purchase his college course from Great Courses. I enjoyed the course what I have watched so far (half way through). That is why I purchased his recommended book on Supreme Court History. It is truly amazing his involvement in bringing justice to 3 Japanese American citizens who were convicted under WWII curfew and internment. Order actions. I can't wait to learn more about the 20th century and the Supreme Court. Now, Mr Irons has a significant left and liberal politic bias. Although I will tolerate it for his knowledge and teaching.

this provides tremendous insight into how the Supreme Court functions and changes with the people seated on the court.

This is the book that provides an immense and readable amount of historical and political background information on the evolution of the interpretation of the US Constitution from its very beginning until the end of the XX century. Constitutional law is seen through its cases throughout history and its main protagonists: the judges of the Supreme Court and those who brought their cases. It also shows that legalist interpretation of the Constitution has not followed the pedant use of syllogistic reasoning from the precedential principles set forth in previous similar cases, like Christopher Columbus Langdell, instead, had taught at Harvard Law School in the XIX century. When the Constitution was interpreted as if it were a pure and independent science, leaving nothing to the political context or the common sense, it created monsters that today look embarrassing. However, since the law was interpreted according to the sensitivities of the ruling class at the time, too, the output still remains curious today. Both ways, the Constitution was read for the benefit of the privileged. The book does not deal only with famous cases such as "Dred Scott v. Sandford", "Plessy v. Ferguson", "Brown v. Board of Education", "Miranda v. Arizona", "Roe v. Wade", but it deals with many more that cover many controversial political subjects of the last 200 years. Here an anecdote in the book that look funny in itself. Lawyers from the Dept. of Justice brought two thousand prosecutions under the Espionage Act. The most ironic is United States v. Spirit of '76, against the producer of a movie about the American Revolution, Robert Goldstein, because his depiction of British atrocities against the colonists tended "to question the good faith of our ally, Great Britain", according to the judge, who imposed a ten-year sentence on the producer. It is a highly recommended book for historians, political scientists, and, why not, lawyers and filmmakers.

condense, easy to follow history

Today the Supreme Court will decide cases that can change our lives in very fundamental ways. It is important to see how we got here and what history can teach. Peter Irons is a scrupulous legal scholar who brings the Supreme Court alive for an average reader. Anyone who has an interest in the landmark decisions, we all hear about in conversation, will be very interested in the how and why these decisions were made in this lively and sometimes funny book.