Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Puts the Supreme Court in a new light, the best of its kind!, 3 Feb 1999
By A Customer
A wonderful look at what goes on behind the scenes. The justices are seen in a new light. Its one of a kind.
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5.0 out of 5 stars
Great reading!, 11 Jan 1999
By A Customer
Although the book shows a little bias from woodward, the story is great.
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4.0 out of 5 stars
A great "insider's" view of the Supreme Court., 31 May 1998
By A Customer
The Brethren, co-authored by Bob Woodward and Scott Armstrong, is an in-depth documentary of the United States Supreme Court from 1969 to 1975, under the leadership of Warren Burger. Woodward and Armstrong present, in detail, all aspects of the court and of it's members. Major issues faced by the court during these years included abortion, racial integration, censorship, and the relationships between the justices. This book is comparable to a lengthy newspaper article. Written more as a source of information than of entertainment, The Brethren is the brutal truth, but not boring. The book was interesting for me, because prior to reading it I did not know much about the Supreme Court. I wanted to finish the book so I could find out what the ruling would be on a particular case, and whether certain justices would retire or not. A feature that helped me get through this book was a chart included in it. The chart listed the justices, the President who appointed them, and the years they had served on the court. It seems that the authors of this book had access to information that all members of the court did not. Gossip was a major part of this book. William Douglas privately referred to Thurgood Marshall as a "spaghetti spine," and very few members of the court wielded a great deal of respect for Chief justice Burger. When Lewis Powell first arrived on the court in 1971, Potter Stewart informed him that "The leadership was not Burger. He was Chief Justice in name only." The justices who actually controlled the court's decisions were the swing votes, the justices in the center. If anyone ever asks me why the United States judicial system is so inefficient, I will tell them to read The Brethren. In the supreme court, no case is an easy case, and no decision ever comes quickly. Some issues, such as abortion, were not settled in the Burger court, and are still not settled today. The decisions made by the court are too difficult to be made by nine men. There is too m! uch work to be done on a single case, and many times the clerks contributed more to an opinion that the justices themselves. The clerks and secretaries were often mistreated by their superiors, but they worked hard and thought like their bosses hoping for advancements in the future. The Brethren is very well written and was worth reading. It taught me more than I ever wanted to know about the judicial process and the Supreme Court. If I ever need information regarding one of the court cases from this time period I will go back to this book. It could be used as a textbook for a course on the Supreme Court. Trust in the political system was both strengthened and weakened by this book. I was impressed by how difficult it is to confirm an appointment to the supreme court. Not just anyone can become a Supreme Court justice, but selection is limited to political insiders who don't always know what America is all about. A book like this keeps Washington on it's toes. It reminds politicians that someone is always watching, and even the closest colleague may be willing to talk. The average American probably wouldn't read this book. If they did, they would only pay attention to cases that could possibly pertain to them. It could definitely make some readers angry and confused, causing them to question the whole political system.
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