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| Becoming Justice Blackmun: Harry Blackmun's Supreme Court Journey | 
 enlarge | Author: Linda Greenhouse
Publisher: Times Books
Category: Book
List Price: $15.00
Buy New: $11.45
You Save: $3.55 (24%)
Buy Used from $11.45
Avg. Customer Rating:  (32 reviews)
Sales Rank: 851021
Format: Bargain Price
Language: English (Published)
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 288
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.6
Dimensions (in): 8.1 x 5.4 x 0.8
Dewey Decimal Number: 347.732634
ASIN: B0013TH5XW
Publication Date: April 4, 2006
Release Date: April 4, 2006
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
A Pulitzer Prize-winning correspondent with unprecedented access to the inner workings of the U.S. Supreme Court chronicles the personal transformation of a legendary justiceFrom 1970 to 1994, Justice Harry A. Blackmun (1908-1999) wrote numerous landmark Supreme Court decisions, including Roe v. Wade, and participated in the most contentious debates of his era-all behind closed doors. In Becoming Justice Blackmun, Linda Greenhouse of The New York Times draws back the curtain on America's most private branch of government and reveals the backstage story of the Supreme Court through the eyes and writings of this extraordinary justice.Greenhouse was the first print reporter to have access to Blackmun's extensive archive and his private and public papers. From this trove she has crafted a compelling narrative of Blackmun's years on the Court, showing how he never lost sight of the human beings behind the legal cases and how he was not afraid to question his own views on such controversial issues as abortion, the death penalty, and sex discrimination. Greenhouse also tells the story of how Blackmun's lifelong friendship with Chief Justice Warren E. Burger withered in the crucible of life on the nation's highest court, revealing how political differences became personal, even for the country's most respected jurists.Becoming Justice Blackmun, written by America's preeminent Supreme Court reporter, offers a rare and wonderfully vivid portrait of the nation's highest court, including insights into many of the current justices. It is a must-read for everyone who cares about the Court and its impact on our lives.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 27 more reviews...
 One thing to remember about this book November 10, 2008
I also had high hopes for this book, as anyone who knows Linda Greenhouse's work can attest, she is a reliable interpreter of the High Court and supreme in analytic ability. As a biographer I must always defer to the hard evidence, in this case Justice Blackmun's papers, which Ms. Greenhouse drew her information from. But I read in the reviews of her work an expectation that plagues the best writers-their publics what everything in every work they produce. There are in this case editors to satisfy and publishers to placate. Linda Greenhouse, like all the rest of us, must dance to the publisher's tune and it is clear that some necessary cuts (i.e., marketing considerations) were made that left her vulernable to the criticism we see here. At any rate, Good Job Linda, I applaud you.
Supreme Book January 1, 2008
Linda Greenhouse writes a smooth and informative read for anyone interested in how the Court really works. Ms Greenhouse traces the evolution and growth of Justice Blackmun through the development of several key Supreme Court decisions. With a great deal of attention dedicated to Roe vs. Wade, it will help inform you of how that decision was made no matter what side of the argument you come down on. The book also does a good job of covering other important decisions during Blackmun's tenure. We also look at the struggles at the Supreme Court throughout Blackmun's tenure.
The book also deals heavily with the development and ultimate disintegration of the life-long relationship between Justice Blackmun and Chief Justice Warren Burger. The book received excellent reviews upon its release and I concur. A very worthwhile read.
 Great Book November 29, 2007
A great book that shows insight into the mind of one of the most powerful men that has sat on the most powerful court in the country. Becoming Justice Blackmun does a wonderful job in giving a full picture of Harry Blackmun the man and how his life influenced his decision both on the court and everyday. Becoming Justice Blackmun is a great and interesting read.
 It's No The Brethren January 24, 2007
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
I was really excited for this book. It did not fulfill. If you haven't read Bob Woodward's The Brethren, or if you for some reason wholly disagreed with it, then you might like Becoming Justice Blackmun. But if you did, you might find this book disappointing. Greenhouse almost completely ignores the negative qualities about Blackmun, especially the incredible amount of time it took him to get his briefs out, and the lack of quality in his first drafts (weaknesses that annoyed many of the other Justices). And what I really wanted to learn more about, the falling apart of Burger and Blackmun, really didn't get the attention that it deserved. They wrote to each other less? What a revelation.
My other problem with this book was the format that the last third of the book takes: quasi-topical/chronological. You can tell that Greenhouse wants to switch to completely topical (which is probably natural for a reporter), but it's a biography, it needs to be strictly chronological. It's hard to keep track of Greenhouse as early in one chapter Ginsburg is a Justice and White isn't, and then all of a sudeen White's on the bench and Ginsburg is arguing in front of it?
This book is good, don't get me wrong. But it belongs nowhere near the upper eschelon of Supreme Court accounts. Read The Brethren. Read Supreme Conflict. Read the 3 biographies on Earl Warren or almost any of the biographies of the justices on his court or on Burger's. To think that Greenhouse had first access to Blackmun's limitless notes, one just expects something that we didn't already know.
Intriguing Book; Disappointing Justice January 8, 2007
I'm hesitant to review Becoming Justice Blackmun because I think my distaste for the book comes from its main character -- Justice Blackmun -- rather than the book itself. To begin, the book is not so much a biography of Blackmun as it is a book that offers various insights into his character and judicial philosophy (or lack thereof). What emerges is not pretty. Blackmun was devoid of any consistently applied judicial philosophy and rather appeared to decide cases based on his gut. Unfortunately, usually his "gut" was guided by his thin skin and petty disposition. The utter lack of critical thinking that the book shows went into Roe v. Wade, one of the most significant Supreme Court cases to this day, as well as its progeny, is particularly disheartening. Nevertheless, the book is certainly worthwhile in understanding the thinking (or lack thereof) behind the case. It will truly make the critical reader - rather than the knee-jerk liberal - question what our Supreme Court has become.
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