Nine Scorpions in a Bottle: The Great Judges and Cases of the Supreme Court

To paraphrase the great humorist Finley Peter Dunne, the Constitution follows the flag and the Supreme Court follows the election returns. Journalist and scholar Max Lerner, on the other hand, followed the Supreme Court for more than 60 years. Lerner analyzes the great minds and judicial decisions that have, over the course of his entire career, done so much to shape America's national character. Portraits of John Marshall, Louis Brandeis, Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr., Earl Warren, Felix Frankfurter, Robert Jackson, and William O. Douglas belie Dunne's comic remark. These fiercely independent thinkers followed no election returns but used their intellect and vision to preserve the American Constitution. Lerner's essays on the Court's moments of both majesty and shame are dedicated "to the newest generation of constitutional students." Among the subjects are "The Supreme Court and American Capitalism," "Watergate as Constitutional Crisis," and "The Bork Wars as Confirmation Crisis." Nonpartisan and clear-eyed, Lerner's discussions of the justices and their most important cases will enrich anyone's understanding of American culture and law. --Nancy Starr