“Will likely be the definitive biography. . . . a detailed and fascinating account of how the Supreme Court functioned during Brennan’s long tenure.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review) This is a compelling inside look at the life of William Brennan, a champion of free speech who is widely considered the most influential Supreme Court justice of the twentieth century. Before his death, Brennan granted Stephen Wermiel access to volumes of personal and court materials that at the time were sealed to the public for another two decades. This “coveted set of documents,” as Jeffrey Toobin described it, includes Brennan’s case histories—in which he recorded strategies behind major battles including Roe v. Wade, affirmative action, the death penalty, obscenity law, and the constitutional right to privacy—as well as more personal documents that reveal some of Brennan’s curious contradictions, like his refusal to hire female clerks even as he wrote groundbreaking women’s rights decisions; his complex stance as a justice and a Catholic; and details on Brennan’s unprecedented working relationship with Chief Justice Earl Warren. In this biography, Wermiel and Seth Stern distill decades of valuable information into a seamless, riveting portrait of the man behind the Court’s most liberal era. “The most comprehensive and well-organized look at the legendary liberal jurist to date.” —The New York Times “Seats the reader in Brennan’s chambers to listen to his conversations and see the memoranda exchanged with other justices and his law clerks.” —Newark Star Ledger “The authors balance differing accounts of Brennan the jurist and the man, presenting an evenhanded portrait of the affable but stubborn Justice.” —Kirkus Reviews

Fascinating and illuminating portrayal of William J. Brennan, Jr., who emerged from a nondescript past to become the seminal justice of our times.

David E. Marion offers a careful review of Brennan's opinions that clarifies his defense of libertarian dignity and illustrates the profound political and constitutional impact of Brennan's opinions on public discourse and government policy.

“Will likely be the definitive biography. . . . a detailed and fascinating account of how the Supreme Court functioned during Brennan’s long tenure.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review) This is a compelling inside look at the life of William Brennan, a champion of free speech who is widely considered the most influential Supreme Court justice of the twentieth century. Before his death, Brennan granted Stephen Wermiel access to volumes of personal and court materials that at the time were sealed to the public for another two decades. This “coveted set of documents,” as Jeffrey Toobin described it, includes Brennan’s case histories—in which he recorded strategies behind major battles including Roe v. Wade, affirmative action, the death penalty, obscenity law, and the constitutional right to privacy—as well as more personal documents that reveal some of Brennan’s curious contradictions, like his refusal to hire female clerks even as he wrote groundbreaking women’s rights decisions; his complex stance as a justice and a Catholic; and details on Brennan’s unprecedented working relationship with Chief Justice Earl Warren. In this biography, Wermiel and Seth Stern distill decades of valuable information into a seamless, riveting portrait of the man behind the Court’s most liberal era. “The most comprehensive and well-organized look at the legendary liberal jurist to date.” —The New York Times “Seats the reader in Brennan’s chambers to listen to his conversations and see the memoranda exchanged with other justices and his law clerks.” —Newark Star Ledger “The authors balance differing accounts of Brennan the jurist and the man, presenting an evenhanded portrait of the affable but stubborn Justice.” —Kirkus Reviews

During his 34 years as a member of the Supreme Court, Justice William J. Brennan played a role in shaping American justice and society that is equaled by few others. Here Tom Wicker, anna Quindlen, Alan Dershowitz, Chief Justice William Rehnquist, and a host of others explore Justice Brennan's tremendous impact on civil liberties, criminal justice, equality, and government in a collection of colorful, passionate essays.

Hopkins examines the body of Justice Brennan's free expression jurisprudence. For him, Brennan was the prime protector of the rights of free speech and free press. He argues that Brennan's theory of free expression is built on the metaphor of a marketplace of ideas. He concludes that Brennan developed a philosophically sound First Amendment theory that was accepted by the Court, but is not being applied with the force necessary for it to be effective in practice.

This compelling work of historical non-fiction focuses on the progeny of the famous New York Times v. Sullivan Supreme Court Decision. It examines how Justice Brennan nurtured and developed the constitutional law of defamation and related claims. It provides the authoritative historical account of how an important body of constitutional law came to be. The Progeny offers fresh insights with respect to both what the law means and the process by which it was formulated.