The Chief, Joan Biskupic
The Chief, Joan Biskupic
4 Rating(s)
List: $31.99 | Sale: $22.40
Club: $15.99

The Chief
The Life and Turbulent Times of Chief Justice John Roberts

Author: Joan Biskupic

Narrator: Jennywren Walker

Unabridged: 14 hr 6 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Basic Books

Published: 03/26/2019

Synopsis

An incisive biography of the Supreme Court's enigmatic Chief Justice, taking us inside the momentous legal decisions of his tenure so far.
John Roberts was named to the Supreme Court in 2005 claiming he would act as a neutral umpire in deciding cases. His critics argue he has been anything but, pointing to his conservative victories on voting rights and campaign finance. Yet he broke from orthodoxy in his decision to preserve Obamacare. How are we to understand the motives of the most powerful judge in the land?
In The Chief, award-winning journalist Joan Biskupic contends that Roberts is torn between two, often divergent, priorities: to carry out a conservative agenda, and to protect the Court's image and his place in history. Biskupic shows how Roberts's dual commitments have fostered distrust among his colleagues, with major consequences for the law. Trenchant and authoritative, The Chief reveals the making of a justice and the drama on this nation's highest court.

About Joan Biskupic

Joan Biskupic has covered the U.S. Supreme Court for more than twenty years and is the author of several books, including American Original: The Life and Constitution of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia and Sandra Day O'Connor: How the First Woman on the Supreme Court Became Its Most Influential Justice. She is also editor in charge for legal affairs at Reuters news. Before joining Reuters in 2012, she was the Supreme Court correspondent for the Washington Post and for USA Today. A graduate of Georgetown University Law Center, she is a regular panelist on PBS's Washington Week with Gwen Ifill. Joan lives in Washington, D.C., with her husband and daughter.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Jean on March 29, 2019

Joan Biskupic is a legal analyst who covers the Supreme Court. She has written biographies about Sandra Day O’Connor, Antonin Scalia and Sonia Sotomayor. The book is well written and researched. The author covers the highlights of the Burger Court and the Rehnquist Court. She compares their style of......more

Goodreads review by Harold on April 23, 2019

This is an excellent book on the Chief Justice. As a biography of John Roberts, it doesn’t get below the robes. No underwear. Nothing in his closet. After the obligatory uninteresting summary of his uninteresting life through college, and his maturation in the Reagan White House, the book settles in......more

Goodreads review by Bren fall in love with the sea. on May 16, 2019

Have not finished yet..reading..so far so great.......more

Goodreads review by Susan on July 17, 2019

My rating would be 4.5 stars if I had the option. This book was a gift and one I would not have thought to read otherwise. I am very glad that it did come my way, however, as I have never focused on the Supreme Court justices to learn more about who they really are. I know basics of course – who is......more

Goodreads review by Lance on April 14, 2019

The biography, at best, is a compilation of knowledge gleaned from mostly widely reported news stories or interviews with former colleagues that doesn’t deliver much insight. Another example that any biography is worth waiting to write when more rich resources are available. Information on CJ Robert......more

Quotes

"The Chief offers an extraordinarily insightful, thoughtful and accessible analysis of Roberts's personal life, professional career, judicial experience and approach to constitutional interpretation. It is essential reading for anyone who truly wants to understand this pivotal moment in Supreme Court history."—Washington Post

"Assiduously reported and briskly written...[Biskupic] suggests that [Roberts] is pulled by two often-conflicting instincts. One is ideological: a desire to move the court rightward on race, religion and other issues. The other is institutional: an interest in the court being respected and seen as nonpolitical."—New York Times Book Review

"An approachable volume about subjects often unapproachable. Biskupic, who has covered the Supreme Court for a quarter century, captures the tensions within the group, the interplay among the justices, and the pressures brought to bear on them by outsiders...The Chief is an ample and amiable companion to such insider accounts as The Brethren, the classic 1979 book by Bob Woodward and Scott Armstrong, and The Nine, the influential 2007 book by Jeffrey Toobin."—Boston Globe

"A well-reported book, it sheds new light...As our attention spans dwindle to each frantic day's headlines, we can forget that the position of chief justice is one of long-term consequence."—Atlantic

"As Joan Biskupic's invaluable biography shows, Roberts is at once a committed Republican with very conservative policy preferences and ties to the conservative community, and an institutionalist who cares deeply about the nonpartisan character of the Court."—New York Review of Books

"Biskupic takes readers behind the scenes, revealing for the first time how Roberts swung back and forth in his deliberations before shocking everyone with his conclusion, preserving Obamacare on the slimmest of threads...Among [her] most valuable insights is how hard Roberts strives to be seen as apolitical when, in fact, he is not only savvy about politics but also is leading a body that is, inevitably, political."—Christian Science Monitor

"Ms. Biskupic is a skillful writer and a diligent scholar, and the John Roberts she presents here is a sympathetic and complex character."—Wall Street Journal

"Magnificent."—Slate

"[Biskupic] makes painfully clear that the defining feature of Roberts's legal career has been his relentless efforts to roll back any measures to combat racial inequality...Biskupic is unfailingly evenhanded, but what she describes is a calculated, sustained assault on the nation's civil rights laws by the most powerful judge in the country"—Washington Monthly

"Justice Roberts's desire to avoid politics while perhaps being unable to do so-is a key theme of Joan Biskupic's new biography...The Chief is unfailingly informative and engaging."—National Review

Add to Cart
Add to Wish List