Good but narrow

By limiting herself to Blackmun's own papers, Greenhouse presents a most interesting glimpse into the way a justice's legal philosophy evolves with time. She particularly stresses the lifelong relationship between Chirf Justice Burger and Blackmun which changed from a mutually adoring friendship to an ideologically competitive one, finally culminating in open rupture. Had she included interviews of other justices or friends and family members, would the book have shown more dimensions of Blackmun's life and also been a bit more of a page turner?

Probably the strongest point in the book is her emphasis that the original majority (7-2) decision handed down by Bluckmun on Roe vs Wade was not about a woman's constitutional right to have an abortion but about a doctor's constitutional right to practice unfettered medicine. She also traces the way the media and the court itself gradually subverted that original intent.

A Becoming Book

Linda Greenhouse writes clearly and with the deep knowledge of an expert court watcher. Her book is highly recommended for any citizen trying to make heads or tails of the escalating political debate over the looming nomination to fill the next vacancy on the U.S. Supreme Court. Roe v. Wade is key and this book explains how it has reached this point.

While Justice Blackmun's obsessive keeping of all letters, notes, and other written material made this book possible, I question if it is good for the high court for others to follow in his tracks, at least in terms of early release of such information. It seems fellow justices and clerks will now write everything, even minor notes, with the thought that the public will be viewing all material exchanged in as early as five years from the death of a particular justice. I think it better for the court's public voice to be from the bench.

The evolution of a Supreme Court Justice

Harry Blackmun served as an associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court from 1970-1994. This book is primarily devoted to those years, although it is a brief book for covering such a lengthy period of time for such a powerful member of the United States Government.

Linda Greenhouse, a well respected journalist who has covered the Supreme Court for years has brought us a tale of Harry Blackmun, from his roots in Minnesota to death in 1999 after 24 years as a member of the Supreme Court.

Although Blackmun is best known for the opinion he wrote in the abortion case Roe v. Wade (1973), he was a well-versed justice, covering topics from abortion to free speech to capital punishment. Greenhouse describes for us how Blackmun evolved from one school of thinking (primarily a moderately conservative viewpoint) to a different school of thought on the ideological spectrum. In fact, by the time of his retirement, in 1994, Blackmun was considered by many the most liberal member of the court. She tells us this tale by examining his personal papers and the cases that he worked on. Greenhouse also details for us the breakup of a lifelong friendship between Blackmun and his so-called "Minnesota Twin", Chief Justice Warren Burger.

Greenhouse does a fabulous job of describing Justice Blackmun and his thought process, how he related to other members of the court, and how he truly became the well-respected Mr. Justice Blackmun, who served with distinction on the US Supreme Court. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who has an interest in the personalities or the internal workings of the highest court in the land.