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The Nine: Inside the Secret World of the Supreme Court
Price:$9.10
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Product Description
In The Nine, acclaimed journalist Jeffrey Toobin takes us into the chambers of the most important—and secret—legal body in our country, the Supreme Court, revealing the complex dynamic among the nine people who decide the law of the land. An institution at a moment of transition, the Court now stands at a crucial point, with major changes in store on such issues as abortion, civil rights, and church-state relations. Based on exclusive interviews with the justices and with a keen sense of the Court’s history and the trajectory of its future, Jeffrey Toobin creates in The Nine a riveting story of one of the most important forces in American life today. |
Customers Reviews
2009-01-08
Great for Law Students
I happen to pick up Jeffrey Toobin's The Nine just after completing Constitutional Law in law school. What a great companion this book was to the class. The book explores the stories behind many of the major cases learned in law school. It not succinctly summarizes the law, but far more interesting is the insights it gives to the justices' individual motivations and their efforts to bring other justices on to their opinions. The conventional view of the court is that it is apolitical and unconcerned with popular opinion. This book explores a truth most court watchers already know, that the justices are concerned about popular opinion and do not stand as far apart from the other branches as many believe.
The discussion of the various confirmation processes is also illuminating. The book starts with Reagan, so it is not clear how it worked before him, but from Reagan on there were very few smooth selection and confirmation processes. With the exception of the selection of Justice Roberts and the selection of Scalia to replace Rehnquist (who was elevated to Chief Justice), there have been no smooth selections and confirmations since 1980. The reason is not Congressional or partisan posturing, but usually a failure by the White House to do its due diligence.
An interesting read about what goes on behind the opinions.
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2009-01-04
good background knowledge. very quick read
This is one of the unusual book that I managed to finish reading in two days. The author provided good balance of theorectical legal discussion, justices' personality/background and Washington politics/gossips. The shortcoming of such quantity of information is that the content is only sufficient to entertain readers who don't have much basic knowledge of the Supreme Court, like me. (I tend to read the business or foreign section of newspaper, but skip news related to legal issues).
Potential reader must know that the author did not bother to hide that he is a liberal. Reading a well-written book that happens to agrees with my social views brings additional pleasure. But, I suspect that social conservatives could find this book biased and potentially enraging.
P.S. definitely get the version of the book that has the year 2008 update.
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2009-01-03
A very readable overview of the Rehnquist court
THE NINE is a very readable synopsis of the members and inner workings of The Supreme Court under Rehnquist's leadership. Each judge is examined in some detail with much of the focus falling on the star of this court, O'Connor. The overall scope of the book does not lends itself to an in depth examination of any particular judge or case; instead it's main function is to provide the reader with a concise breakdown of The Court's recent history and as such it serves its purpose well. For the reader with a casual interest in the Court's operations and anyone wishing to examine the premier cases that this court dealt with, Bush v Gore , Lawrence v. Texas, The Schiavo case or Guantanamo Bay, this book is a nice overview.
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2008-12-28
It All Boils Down to Ideology
It is understandable why Mr. Toobin's "The Nine" received so many kudos and vaulted onto numerous book critics' top-ten list for the year. Like three of his earlier works pertaining to the OJ Simpson trial, President Clinton's impeachment fiasco and the 2000 Florida recount catastrophe, the author has produced a knowledgable and engrossing book about the Supreme Court. I have always been perplexed and discouraged about the near total indifference by many voters when it comes to a potential President's effect on the makeup of the Court. Mr. Toobin has done a great service by fleshing out the individual Justices who reside in this important institution. The Justices are not depicted as static, one-dimensional beings, but individuals who continue to evolve during their tenures on the Court. Is the book opinionated? Absolutely. Is he a harsher critic of the more conservative Justices? Definitely. Is the book educational and worth reading? Without a doubt.
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2008-12-26
Liberal bias
There are a lot of "facts" in this book which are better described as the author's liberal bias. Toobin had some direct access to individual justices, but not all, and often resorts to his opinions. If you like liberal interpretations, this is for you. Objectivity is non-existent.
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What Everybody Should Know About Secondary Education Problems Public poll, held in 2005 showed that 85% Americans consider educational problem the most important and current one.
The inquiries disclosed that more educated people live in the capital of the country if take in account the whole population. Among the most “smart’ states is also Massachusetts and Colorado and the most illiterate people live in West Virginia and Arkansas. As a rule the income of the person directly depends on his education quality.
Major Problems in Public Education
Unfortunately the quality of secondary education still leaves much to be desired. Only in 20 of the 50 US states pupils are obliged to take special examinations to receive a degree. 20 years ago all Americans got high school degrees without such exams. Year–by-year the number of the states which implement final examinations is increasing. According to Center for Education Policy estimations many upperclassmen can not pass the examinations. About 70% can not pass their maths exam and about 40% - their English.
No other country but America spends such money (either state or personal) on education. Still according to the Organization for the Economic and Development report such expenses do not influence the quality of education itself for Americans pupils fall behind their foreign peers. Moreover for some indexes Americans loose in comparison with Europeans.
In 2000 The USA government spent more that $10.2 thousand on every petty. In other developing countries this sum does not exceed $6 thousands. The USA has become the second “generous” country to spend about 7% of GDP on public education financing. Since Bush became President the expenses on educational development and improvement has considerably grown. But they did not bring about any positive impact for pupils succeeding.
One of the greatest problems in American schools and educational establishments is the high violence level. Since 1996 there were at least 27 incidents connected with heaters usage in which about 46 students and teachers died. National Center for Education Statistics has shown that in 2001 teens of 12-18 have become victims of about 2 million crimes in USA schools. 62% of all the crimes comprise robberies. From July 1999 to June 2000 there were 24 murders and 8 suicide cases. Somehow 71% of all the American public schools faced any kinds of crimes.
The most efficient practice to fight against violence, alcohol and drugs addiction seems to be summary punishments. In each state special programs of troublesome teens reclamation exist. For example in Georgia in detention centers studies are held in small groups by specially trained teachers. These pupils are taught to study in strict discipline and under the poorest conditions, intensive physical trainings are also included. |
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