Book Description

This New York Times Notable Book of the Year, 1998, is now in trade paper.

From the bestselling author of Eyes on the Prize, here is the definitive biography of the great lawyer and Supreme Court justice. ... Read more

Reviews (11)

Gave Me Appreciation of "Other" Part of Civil Rights History
I (like many people, I bet) usually think of the civil rights struggle mostly in terms of Martin Luther King and bus boycots. This book tells the story of the legal battles that were mainly lead by Thurgood Marshall leading up to and including Brown vs Board of Ed that ended "separate but equal" and the cases after. The book follows Marshall's life to his appointment to a judgeship, the Solicitor General in LBJ's administration to his time on the Supreme Court. However, I found the time period from post WWII to the 60's as the most interesting. The importance of these legal battles is often forgotten. I guess it took MLK to really turn the nation's hearts, but Thurgood was the one who changed the laws. Williams does not deify Marshall and discusses his shortcomings - he was a heavy drinker, cheated on his wives and he his behaviour would be considered sexual harassment today. I am very glad that I expanded my knowledge of the history of the civil rights struggle by reading this book

An incredible account of an amazing life
This is one of the most wonderful books I ever read. Thurgood Marshall is one of the most dynamic figures of the Civil Rights Movement. Williams not only gives an excellent and engaging account of Marshall's life, he represents the time in a manner that easily imagined. I was not alive during this period of time, but reading Williams' book made me feel as though I had experienced it. So often, when an author truly likes and admires his subject, the work that results is biased and not well-rounded. You can tell when you are reading something that is one-sided and too tributory to be accurate. Williams' admiration for this great man shines through in his book; however, it is by no means a song to Marshall. Williams' is fair in his dedication to not only Marshall's courage and brilliance, but also his fallibility and humanity. This is what brings the history to life. When you finish reading this book, you will feel as though you know Thurgood Marshall.

Very tedious, superficial
Maybe its unfair that I read this book after reading the spectacular autobiography of John Lewis, Walking in the Wind. However, I found that this book was too detached from the man. I did not come away from this book with a better understanding of this man than I did before hand. Thurgood Marshall is one of the most important people of 20th century America but you don't see why in this book.

The major problem with this book is its writing style which makes reading this book tedious. I found myself bored by page 200. Also, I believe the Brown decision is given 20 pages and his solcitor general appointment is given more.

If you want to learn more about this guy, study the cases of the era. Sweatt v. painter, Brown of course, etc. Marshall's personal life really is irrelevant towards understanding this man's accomplishments. I would not recommend this book.

A facinating look at a man who helped set things right...
Juan's engaging and highly readable book may not be a "comprehensive" Marshall reference, belabored with extensive footnotes & references, but persons interested in Civil Rights, or American history will find the man Turgood Marshall compelling & complex, and the book enjoyable and very informative.

A Complex Personality who changed the direction of history
Williams certainly understands the value of Marshall's great contributions to the long overdue advancement of African-Americans. Often over shadowed by King and Malcom X, Marshall accomplished much with his work in the courts to pave the way for the end of segregation. The sections leading up to Brown were compelling and helped bring the reader back to time that is very different than today, but not too long ago. People unfamilar with the reality of the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s will find this book invaluable. However, the strength of this book is that it paints Marshall not only as a great man, but a man with flaws. His dealings with other leaders, especially his conflicts with other great African-American leaders, his late night drinking, his womanizing all make him more human and more compelling. Not only was Marshall a significant fiqure in the Civil Rights movement, but he was also human, a man that readers can relate to and understand. ... Read more

Book Description

Much has been written about Thurgood Marshall, but this is the first book to collect his own words. Here are briefs he filed as a lawyer, oral arguments for the landmark school desegregation cases, investigative reports on race riots and racism in the Army, speeches and articles outlining the history of civil rights and criticizing the actions of more conservative jurists, Supreme Court opinions now widely cited in Constitutional law, a long and complete oral autobiography, and much more. Marshall's impact on American race relations was greater than that of anyone else this century, for it was he who ended legal segregation in the United States. His victories as a lawyer for the NAACP broke the color line in housing, transportation, voting, and schools by overturning the long-established "separate-but-equal" doctrine. But Marshall was attentive to all social inequalities: no Supreme Court justice has ever been more consistent in support of freedom of expression, affirmative action, women's rights, abortion rights, and the right to consensual sex among adults; no justice has ever fought so hard against economic inequality, police brutality, and capital punishment. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Helpful One Volume Source of Writings of True American Hero
Thurgood Marshall is an authentic American hero: "Mr. Civil Rights;" point person for the NAACP's dismantling of segregation; Judge of the Second Circuit Court of Appeals (from 1961-1965); Solicitor General (1965-1967); and Justice of the Supreme Court (1967-1991). Mark Tushnet's Thurgood Marshall: His Speeches, Writings, Arguments, Opinions and Reminiscences is a welcome anthology of Marshall's professional writings as lawyer, judge, and storyteller.

Tushnet, Professor of Constitutional Law at Georgetown University Law Center, was Marshall's law clerk during the 1972-1973 term and has written authoritatively about the civil rights movement. He knows the man and material, and has selected the entries with care.

The book contains five parts. Part I contains two of Marshall's appeal briefs, including Brown v. Board of Education, and selected transcripts of oral arguments before the Supreme Court. The briefs substantiate Marshall's "sure instinct for the facts that mattered and an ability to present his case in the way his audience . . . would understand." The oral arguments demonstrate his tenacity in urging his positions despite hard questioning. Marshall the lawyer was clearly a product of his mentor Charlie Houston, Dean of Howard Law School, who taught: "Men, you've got to be social engineers. We've got to turn this whole thing around. And the black man has got to do it; nobody's going to do it for you. . . . You've got to get out there and compete with the other man, and you've got to be better than he is. You might never get what you deserve, but you'll certainly not get what you don't deserve."

Marshall the lawyer was painstakingly thorough. One of his many anecdotes (it was said he could tell a story every day for twenty years and never repeat himself) reflects the pride he took in his legal craftsmanship: a Louisiana judge, not favorably disposed to Marshall or his case, still had to admit, "If Mr. Marshall puts his signature on it, you don't have to check [the citations]."

Part II contains speeches and articles by Marshall while he was a lawyer, for the NAACP's magazine and other periodicals. These are interesting glimpses into the fellowship and frustrations of the civil rights effort, as well as Marshall's methods of advocacy. In his testimonial remarks for Philadelphia lawyer Raymond Pace Alexander, Marshall defines true advocacy as "to put your client above everything else . . . in such a fashion as to get the respect of everyone else."

Part III, contains speeches by Marshall when he was a judge. The section includes Marshall's cautionary remarks during the 1987 bicentennial of the Constitution. Only a Constitution "defective from the start" would permit the Supreme Court to assert in 1857 that it provided blacks with "no rights which the white man was bound to respect." It took "several amendments, a civil war, and momentous social transformation to attain the system of constitutional government, and its respect for the individual freedoms and human rights, that we hold as fundamental today." Also included are Marshall's annual talks at the Second Circuit Judicial Conference. Marshall speaks with great affection for the Second Circuit, with which he was closely affiliated for over a quarter-century, and candidly admits his disagreement with the direction of the Burger and Rehnquist courts.

Part IV, contains a sampling, edited for a general audience, of Justice Marshall's "322 majority opinions, 83 concurrences, and 363 dissents" during his twenty-four years on the Supreme Court. (An appendix catalogs the most significant opinions). The number of dissents is striking. "Maybe I am just a voice crying in the wilderness," Marshall said in 1988, "but as long as I have breath in me I am going to cry."

Randall Kennedy's lucid foreword acknowledges that Marshall's career as an attorney outshone his career as a judge, but only because Marshall's career as a lawyer was so extraordinary that what followed had to be anticlimactic. Another reason for Marshall's limited impact as a judge, at least to-date, is that the court turned rightward just as he became a part of it, and he spent the last part of his career decrying the diminution of principles he had struggled so hard to establish. Sometimes the Court seemed to him to be turning these principles upside down, as in Regents of the University of California v. Bakke (1978), in which Marshall commented: "[I]t must be remembered that, during most of the past 200 years, the Constitution as interpreted by this Court did not prohibit the most ingenious and pervasive forms of discrimination against the Negro. Now, when a State acts to remedy the effects of that legacy of discrimination, I cannot believe that this same Constitution stands as a barrier." The supreme irony is that Marshall's final years on the Court were under Chief Justice Rehnquist, who wrote a memo to Justice Jackson concerning Brown arguing that the "separate but equal" doctrine was perfectly constitutional.

The final section, Reminiscences, is the Columbia Oral History Project interview of Marshall. It is a delightful collection of practiced anecdotes, reflecting Marshall's immense charm and humor. Marshall relates even the most harrowing of episodes, his near lynching, with humor. Arrested on pretext of driving while drunk, he narrowly escaped the lynch mob when a tee-totaling magistrate ordered his release. He called Attorney General Clark (later maneuvered by LBJ to resign his Supreme Court seat to Marshall), who asked, "Where you drunk?" Marshall replied, "Well, Mr. Attorney General, about five minutes after I hang up this phone, I'm going to be drunk." ... Read more

Book Description

A biography of Thurgood Marshall, the first African-American to be named to the U.S. Supreme Court, discussing his childhood and family, his college years and marriage, his career as a lawyer and Civil Rights champion, his appointment to the Court, and his legacy. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

A book that does justice to the life of Thurgood Marshall
Carla Williams' juvenile biography of Thurgood Marshall, the first African-American justice on the U.S. Supreme Court is one of the best volumes in the Journey to Freedom series, a excellent collection of reference books committed to educating children about the achievements and contributions of noted African Americans. We learn that Marshall had shortened his first name from Thoroughgood, his paternal grandfather who had been born a slave, while his maternal grandfather, Isaiah Williams, had been born free. A pivotal moment in Marshall's life comes when he attends Lincoln University, the first American university for black students, where he was a classmate fo the poet Langston Hughes. The students voted to determine if they wanted to add black teachers to the faculty; Marshall voted against the idea until Hughes convinced him that black students needed black teachers as role models. Students will find it instructive that such a major figure in the Civil Rights movement as Thurgood Marshall could have taken such a position once upon a time.

Young readers of this biography will come away with a very clear appreciation of Marshall's impressive body of work as a lawyer and a jurist. There was even a song called "Thurgood Marshall, Mr. Civil Rights" that was sung to the tune of "The Ballad of Davy Crockett." Marshall won 29 of 32 cases he argued before the U.S. Supreme Court and never had any decisions overturned or reversed when he was appointed by President Kennedy as the first African American to serve on the U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals. As Solicitor General Marshall continued his record of arguing and winning more cases before the Supreme Court than anybody else. Consequently, when President Johnson appointed Marshall to the nation's highest court, there could be no doubt about his qualifications. Williams reminds us that as a young student at Howard University, Marshall had often come to the Supreme Court to listen to the cases being argued.

This book deals with Marshall's strong beliefs throughout, such as his disapproval of Civil Right protests and "sit-ins," because he feared they would become violent and unsafe. Williams makes a point of explaining why Marshall used the words "Negro" and "colored" rather than "African American" or "black." She relates how Marshall did appreciate the University of Maryland naming its Law School after him, since the school had refused to admit him as a student. Nor did Marshall approve of Clarence Thomas, the conservative African-American judge appointed to replace him on the Court when he retired. Thomas is effectively dismissed with the declaration that he thought Brown vs. Board of Education, Marshall's most famous landmark decision overturning the farcical doctrine of "separate but equal," was decided incorrectly (I am not surprised to note there is not a Clarence Thomas volume in this series, which does include contemporary figures like Colin Powell and Maya Angelou).

This volume does justice to the life and memory of Thurgood Marshall. Young students who have never read about his inspiring life are going to discover that it will be hard for them not to consider Marshall a hero. During Black History Month, or any class unit that covers the Civil Rights movement or the U.S. Supreme Court, Thurgood Marshall is someone students need to learn about and remember. ... Read more

Book Description

Following on Making Civil Rights Law, which covered Thurgood Marshall's career from 1936-1961, this book focuses on Marshall's career on the Supreme Court from 1961-1991, where he was the first Afro-American Justice.Based on thorough research in the Supreme Court papers of Justice Marshall and others, this book describes Marshall's approach to constitutional law in areas ranging from civil rights and the death penalty to abortion and poverty.It locates the Supreme Court from 1967 to 1991 in a broader political and historical context, showing how the nation's drift toward conservatism affected the Court. ... Read more

Book Description

From the 1930s to the early 1960s civil rights law was made primarily through constitutional litigation. Before Rosa Parks could ignite a Montgomery Bus Boycott, the Supreme Court had to strike down the Alabama law which made segregated bus service required by law; before Martin Luther King could march on Selma to register voters, the Supreme Court had to find unconstitutional the Southern Democratic Party's exclusion of African-Americans; and before the March on Washington and the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Supreme Court had to strike down the laws allowing for the segregation of public graduate schools, colleges, high schools, and grade schools.

Making Civil Rights Law provides a chronological narrative history of the legal struggle, led by Thurgood Marshall and the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, that preceded the political battles for civil rights. Drawing on interviews with Thurgood Marshall and other NAACP lawyers, as well as new information about the private deliberations of the Supreme Court, Tushnet tells the dramatic story of how the NAACP Legal Defense Fund led the Court to use the Constitution as an instrument of liberty and justice for all African-Americans. He also offers new insights into how the justices argued among themselves about the historic changes they were to make in American society.

Making Civil Rights Law provides an overall picture of the forces involved in civil rights litigation, bringing clarity to the legal reasoning that animated this "Constitutional revolution", and showing how the slow development of doctrine and precedent reflected the overall legal strategy of Thurgood Marshall and the NAACP. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Very informative but dry
This book is a decisive history of Thurgood Marshall's actions and the effects that he had on the civil rights of African-Americans while he worked with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). His successes, failures, and discussions of his effects make it a very informative book. It is quite obvious that the author spent a great amount of time researching his topic of choice. The book is absolutely full of quotes from people of the time and very detailed factual accounts of events. Unfortunately, the content is not written in an extremely appealing matter. It tends to drone on and on about various cases and actions which have no major significance in history nor in the life of Marshall. If you can read through the dry spots, though, its a great book. You can really get a felling for the social climate of the era as well as the thoughts and feelings of Marshall himself. As a research tool, this was definitely the most valuable book I came across. If I was rating this book based on its information it would be an easy five. Ultimately, it is a good book for pleasure reading but not the best. I would have to say that Juan Williams' Thurgood Marshall: American Revolutionary is the best. If you are interested in Marshall's career, though, you want to look at Tushnet's other book Making Constitutional Law : Thurgood Marshall and the Supreme Court, 1961-1991. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

The Most Inspiring Book I've Read in a Long Time
A captivating truly exhilirating book.Full of all kinds of fascinating details about Marshall's upbringing, his years as a litigator, and his judicial career.Truly captures the essence of a man who was irreverent, down to earth, compassionate, and fully committed to his cause.Demonstrates the numerous ways in which Marshall's achievements have made life better for all American's.More entertaining than a work of fiction.Made me want to read Rowan's other books.

Read This!
As it says on the cover, this is as close as one will get to an autobiography of Thurgood Marshall.The author gives a fascinating insight into Marshall's life and career.Very well worth reading. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Great Book
Thurgood Marshall was a remarkable man and his contributions are equally remarkable. Although he was handed the baton by other leaders of the NAACP, he ran just as fast as they and achieved much more. I liked reading this book largely because I am a future lawyer and am interested in this sort of thing. This book was also written by lawyers and the quality of writing is a bit dull. However, if you are into reading this sort of book, I do recommend giving it a shot. ... Read more

Book Description

The "Easy Biographies" series focuses on the childhood and young-adult years of famous men and women who overcame obstacles to achieve greatness. Inspirational and informative reading for students with big dreams. ... Read more

Book Description

Thurgood Marshall's extraordinary contribution to civil rights and overcoming racism is more topical than ever, as the national debate on race and the overturning of affirmative action policies make headlines nationwide. Howard Ball, author of eighteen books on the Supreme Court and the federal judiciary, has done copious research for this incisive biography to present an authoritative portrait of Marshall the jurist.

Born to a middle-class black family in "Jim Crow" Baltimore at the turn of the century, Marshall's race informed his worldview from an early age. He was rejected by the University of Maryland Law School because of the color of his skin. He then attended Howard University's Law School, where his racial consciousness was awakened by the brilliant lawyer and activist Charlie Houston. Marshall suddenly knew what he wanted to be: a civil rights lawyer, one of Houston's "social engineers." As the chief attorney for the NAACP, he developed the strategy for the legal challenge to racial discrimination. His soaring achievements and his lasting impact on the nation's legal system--as the NAACP's advocate, as a federal appeals court judge, as President Lyndon Johnson's solicitor general, and finally as the first African American Supreme Court Justice--are symbolized by Brown v. Board of Education, the landmark case that ended legal segregation in public schools.

Using race as the defining theme, Ball spotlights Marshall's genius in working within the legal system to further his lifelong commitment to racial equality. With the help of numerous, previously unpublished sources, Ball presents a lucid account of Marshall's illustrious career and his historic impact on American civil rights. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Tells what he did
"A Defiant Life" presents the heroic life of Thurgood Marshall and his fight against racism in a compelling manner. The book does not tell a feel bad/feel angry/feel good story. There is little recourse to anecdotes, and hardly any moments for emotional release. Instead it tells what Marshall did as an advocate for the minorities - for example how he travelled many times to the South facing mortal danger to argue important cases. It also tells us of his opinions, and how they influenced his use of the legal system to help the oppressed. After reading this book, one comes away knowing that Marshall was one of the great men of 20th century America. And one comes away understanding the reasons for the far reaching implications of several Supreme Court cases.

It's never only black or white
Gut wrenching in its honesty,thought provoking in the truest sense of the word. It allowed me to take a step back from racial madness and see through another pair of eyes. No law can change people's attitudes, morality is judged by the majority, this book shows us. And yet it had a hopeful note beneath the surface. Initially I was put off by the inhuman, thesis sounding title.. do not make my mistake-read this book and absorb culture at its ugliest (and most honest).

Disappointing in the extreme
From its rather droll beginnings: "Thurgood Marshall was born in 1908," Howard Ball's biography, A Defiant Life : Thurgood Marshall and the Persistence of Racism in America, only goes downhill. His writing style is bland and the story line follows no distinguishable pattern, aimless flowing from point to point with few overarching themes.

Unlike Juan Williams' Thurgood Marshall: American Revolutionary (a truly great biography focusing on the personal as well as the legal issues of this American giant) or Mark Tushnet's Making Civil Rights Law and Making Constitutional Law (two books that provide an excellent legal analysis of Marshall's work), Ball's book repeats stories and facts that are already well-worn and understood. Most tragic, one gets little understanding about what drove Marshall to fight the brutal system of Jim Crow oppression and led him to become such a forceful advocate of individual rights on the bench.

The personal and legal story of Marshall is much more interesting and deserves a much better biography. Best to skip this one. ... Read more