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by: Robert G. McCloskey
List Price: $16.00Amazon.com's Price: $14.40 You Save: $1.60 (10%)Prices subject to change. Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 347.7326
EAN: 9780226556826
ISBN: 0226556824
Label: University Of Chicago Press
Manufacturer: University Of Chicago Press
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 344
Publication Date: October 15, 2004
Publisher: University Of Chicago Press
Sales Rank: 507033
Studio: University Of Chicago Press
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Editorial Review:
Product Description:
First published more than forty years ago, Robert G. McCloskey's classic work on the Supreme Court's role in constructing the U.S. Constitution has introduced generations of students to the workings of our nation's highest court. In this fourth edition, Sanford Levinson extends McCloskey's magisterial treatment to address the Court's most recent decisions, including its controversial ruling in Bush v. Gore and its expansion of sexual privacy in Lawrence v. Texas. The book's chronology of important Supreme Court decisions and itsannotated bibliographical essay have also been updated.
As in previous editions, McCloskey's original text remains unchanged. He argues that the Court's strength has always been its sensitivity to the changing political scene, as well as its reluctance to stray too far from the main currents of public sentiment. Levinson's two new chapters show how McCloskey's approach continues to illuminate recent developments, such as the Court's seeming return to its pre-1937 role as 'umpire' of the federal system. It is in Bush v. Gore, however, where the implications of McCloskey's interpretation stand out most clearly.
The best and most concise account of the Supreme Court and its place in American politics, McCloskey's wonderfully readable book is an essential guide to its past, present, and future prospects of this institution.
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating:  - Very good book
Good work in field of political history,especially history of American Supreme Court.
Rating:  - A concise history of (the top of) the "least dangerous branch"
There are a surprising number of ways to approach and review this book, given that its original length was only 160 pages, give or take. True, Sanford Levinson, Robert McCloskey's disciple while a graduate student at Harvard University, has added approximately 100 pages to his mentor's text, covering the 45 years of constitutional jurisprudence that has developed since the book's original publication. Even at 260 pages, though, you'd think more narrative would be required adequately to tell the ... Read More
Rating: - A true must-read
McCloskey's book is about the institutional history of the Supreme Court and its development vis-à-vis the other branches of government. The text is beutifully written and original, full of insights, compelling arguments and interesting analysis. Constitutional law, political science and history criticism at their best. A true must-read.
Rating: - Excellent Summary of the Supreme Court's History
Robert McCloskey has written an excellent book about the History of the Supreme Court. Throughout the book, he has discussed landmark court decisions that have influenced United States history and the structure of the judicial branch of our government. Little was written about the structure and function of the Supreme Court by our forefathers in the U.S. Constitution. It is for this reason that the judicial branch is the weakest branch of government. For example, the number of justices ... Read More
Rating: - McCloskey book
As I read the McCloskey book, I was deeply impressed with his explication of the matter-of-fact ways by which our Supreme Court has gained and maintained respect, power, and legitimacy. However, there is one main criticism. As McCloskey candidly admits in the preface, "...my aim is to see the Court as an agency in the American governing process, an agency with a mind and a will and an influence of its own" (McCloskey, , 1994, xvii). Operating under such an assumption, it is not ... Read More
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