Rating: 
Summary: Excellent book, compelling narrative
Review: I am surprised that this book did not receive more favorable reviews. Perhaps for a constitutional scholar or supreme court lawyer this book is too basic. Since I am neither, I found it incredibly interesting. Rehnquist is a good writer whose narrative voice is so clear that I found it difficult to put the book down when it was time to go to sleep. As a layperson I never really thought about the very subjective nature of the decisions made by the justices and the role that their politics (and the political context) play in the decision making process. Rehnquist is obviously a very bright fellow. I would recommend this book to all those interested in the machinations of our government at a depth far more profound than can be gained from watching cable TV.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent book, compelling narrative
Review: I am surprised that this book did not receive more favorable reviews. Perhaps for a constitutional scholar or supreme court lawyer this book is too basic. Since I am neither, I found it incredibly interesting. Rehnquist is a good writer whose narrative voice is so clear that I found it difficult to put the book down when it was time to go to sleep. As a layperson I never really thought about the very subjective nature of the decisions made by the justices and the role that their politics (and the political context) play in the decision making process. Rehnquist is obviously a very bright fellow. I would recommend this book to all those interested in the machinations of our government at a depth far more profound than can be gained from watching cable TV.
Rating: 
Summary: A dry, but somewhat interetsing look at the court.
Review: I bought this book expecting that it would contain some interesting insight into the Court and its workings from the point-of-view of the Chief Justice. If that's what you're looking for, don't buy this book.Instead, this book is a somewhat dry look at the history of the court and gives some interesting background information regarding some of the Justices that have sat on the Court. This book would be good for those of you who want a little more history of the Court, but are not looking for great insights into the law or its development.
Rating: 
Summary: Who knows better than he?
Review: No matter what your political persuasion, I think the average reader will find this a cogent, witty history of the High Court. The Chief is a surprisingly smooth writer, and has a good ear for deliniating the chief cases in U.S. History. However, the book does really presume a familiarity with U.S. History that International readers may not have. Not the worst weakness in the world. This is also a wonderfully appropriate gift for a gifted child with an interest in politics or jurisprudence. Just don't bring up Bush v. Gore.
Rating:
Summary: Great Book
Review: Not only does the book give a good historical view of the Supreme Corrt, but gives inshghts into the mind of one of its great personalities. Great reading!
Rating:
Summary: Superb Introduction and Balanced Account
Review: The Supreme Court is a concise and balanced introductory account of the most important supreme court cases beginning with Marbury v. Madison and ending with the decisions of the Warren Court. The cases are presented without legal jargon so that their significance can be understood by the layman. Rehnquist does a superb job of framing each case with the surrounding history, thereby making the work also a succinct introduction to American history and politics. For example, the discussion of the Dred Scott decision is presented within the brewing debate over slavery and events such as the Compromise of 1850. Rehnquist limits his discussion of the cases to the decision at hand. Thus, readers will be disappointed if they expect to find an explication either of the *legal reasoning* underlying the decisions or Rehnquist's own constitutional stance. Nonetheless, this is probably the best introductory account of the major supreme court cases and their significance. There is a glaring lacunae and that is Rehnquist's account of Brown v. Board of Education, the signal decision of the Warren Court. Aside from noting that it overruled Plessy v. Ferguson, Rehnquist is unusally silent on the substance of the case. The lacunae is noticeable since as a law clerk to Justice Robert Jackson, Rehnquist wrote a famous memo arguing that Plessy v. Ferguson was "right and should be reaffirmed".
Rating:
Summary: A new edition of the Chief Justice's history of the Court
Review: The Supreme Court provides a new edition of the Chief Justice's history of the Court, substantially revising the prior publication and adding new chapters. The personal story of Rehnquist's introduction to the court blends with his analysis of the court system and its growth to provide a well-rounded coverage.
Rating:
Summary: Delightful Historical Insight Into The High Court
Review: This able jurist takes the reader into the heart and history of the nation's high court, beginning with his own beginnings there as a clerk to one of the Justices.
His flair for the historical setting and the surrounding circumstances makes for easy reading. He does not assume that his readership is well versed in technical legal jargon so is careful to define and explain as he goes, which this reviewer found very helpful. Even when I thought I knew what he was referring to, his clarity and succinctness helped immensely in the experience.
For much of our country who harbors wrong thinking about the Supreme Court, how they operate and what they are to do Constituionally this is just the book to give the needed correction. Essentially this book serves that purpose well: to provide the chronolical history of the court's developments including profiles of the justices, its changing legal posture, its historic, landmark cases and Chief Justice Rehnquist's running commentary on such.
It is lucid, well structured and thus easy to follow and insightful. Especially was his valuable contributions on just how the court has functioned, now functions on selecting cases to hear. I was intrigued especially by the government's seizure of the steel industry and Montgomery Ward's Chicago headquarters during WWII.
Just a great read from beginning to end which will and should span a wide breath of readers. Worthy to become classic on the topic. Glad that he didn't write this as memoirs on his court term. That likely will to come, or be published posthumously.
Rating:
Summary: One average book and one excellent pamphlet
Review: This book can be boiled down to two parts, the "History of the Supreme Court" and "How the Court Works". The former is a relatively light handling of the history of the Supreme Court, mainly focusing on the interaction of the Court and politics. The latter is a brief but thorough glimpse into the inner workings of the Court. Two things that could have made the history section better would have been less focus on the Steel Mill seizures and more attention paid to the Justices who populated the Court through its existence. The Steel Mill seizure case takes up a lot of space, though it is no doubt an important case in that it struck down the idea of an all-powerful Presidency. However interesting it may have been, I got the feeling that with so many pages being devoted solely to this case, that I was missing other bits of Court history along the way. Barely a mention of the Justice Chase impeachment, Brown vs. Board, and other fairly important Supreme Court historical points are discussed. Another thing that I felt could have made this book better would have been simple captions under the pictures that gave a short footnote to their importance. Organizing them to be more in tune with the pace of the book would have been nice as well. The old Senate Court chambers are discussed in the very beginning, but the pictures of it are at the end. There's no excuse for that. Despite those shortcomings, Rehnquist writes in an entertaining, though somewhat dry, manner and in a way that anyone can easily understand. The latter part of the book, only a couple chapters in length describe the manner in which the Court goes about its business. This section was excellent. Rehnquist discusses the "how"s of a case from petition for certiorari to final decision delivery and gives plenty of space to the "why"s as well. As a small pamphlet, this section would be quite useful to anyone interested in learning about the Judicial branch of the Federal government. The first section gets 3 stars for its decent handling of the history of the Supreme Court and the second section gets 5 stars for its excellent description and discussion of the internal workings of the Court.
Rating:
Summary: One average book and one excellent pamphlet
Review: This book can be boiled down to two parts, the "History of the Supreme Court" and "How the Court Works". The former is a relatively light handling of the history of the Supreme Court, mainly focusing on the interaction of the Court and politics. The latter is a brief but thorough glimpse into the inner workings of the Court. Two things that could have made the history section better would have been less focus on the Steel Mill seizures and more attention paid to the Justices who populated the Court through its existence. The Steel Mill seizure case takes up a lot of space, though it is no doubt an important case in that it struck down the idea of an all-powerful Presidency. However interesting it may have been, I got the feeling that with so many pages being devoted solely to this case, that I was missing other bits of Court history along the way. Barely a mention of the Justice Chase impeachment, Brown vs. Board, and other fairly important Supreme Court historical points are discussed. Another thing that I felt could have made this book better would have been simple captions under the pictures that gave a short footnote to their importance. Organizing them to be more in tune with the pace of the book would have been nice as well. The old Senate Court chambers are discussed in the very beginning, but the pictures of it are at the end. There's no excuse for that. Despite those shortcomings, Rehnquist writes in an entertaining, though somewhat dry, manner and in a way that anyone can easily understand. The latter part of the book, only a couple chapters in length describe the manner in which the Court goes about its business. This section was excellent. Rehnquist discusses the "how"s of a case from petition for certiorari to final decision delivery and gives plenty of space to the "why"s as well. As a small pamphlet, this section would be quite useful to anyone interested in learning about the Judicial branch of the Federal government. The first section gets 3 stars for its decent handling of the history of the Supreme Court and the second section gets 5 stars for its excellent description and discussion of the internal workings of the Court.
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