An intense and accessible behind-the-bench examination of the Supreme Court's surprising drift to the center. Simon (Law/New York Law School; The Antagonists, 1989, etc.) focuses on four ideological flashpointsracial discrimination, abortion, criminal procedure, and the First Amendmentto show how Chief Justice William Rehnquist has so far failed to command a consistent conservative majority on the High Court. Since 1986, Rehnquist has endeavored to find the votes to overturn pesky civil rights precedents, including but not limited to Roe v. Wade. Antonin Scalia, Byron White, and Clarence Thomas can be counted on to advance the right wing's political agenda, but none of the other Reagan/Bush appointees (Sandra Day O'Connor, Anthony Kennedy, David Souter) has proven to be a surefire fifth vote. Using the justices' internal memoranda, letters, notes, draft opinions, and court transcripts, Simon shows how the centrist justices' votes are sometimes the product of wrenching intellectual struggles (the devout Kennedy's decision to strike public-school commencement prayer as violating church/state separation), sometimes of personal animus (O'Connor's defection from the dump-Roe camp following Scalia's nasty attack on her professional competence). The author clearly approves of the centrists' independence and is no fan of Rehnquist, who comes off as an unprincipled activist ill-suited to consensus-building, or of Scalia, who appears egomaniacal and obnoxious. But his harshest words are saved for Thomas, ``unimpressive'' and evasive at his confirmation hearings, ``the least engaged,'' ``least influential'' justice on the bench. Court watchers may find Simon's analysis too narrowfor example, his discussion of privacy interests omits a 1986 decision upholding Georgia's antisodomy statuteand other readers will be nettled by occasional sexist references to ``Sandra'' and to female attorneys' wardrobes. But this fascinating book will restore faith in the judiciary and in the men and women who wear its robes.
Pub Date: Aug. 1, 1995
ISBN: 0-684-80293-7
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 1995
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis...
Privately published by Strunk of Cornell in 1918 and revised by his student E. B. White in 1959, that "little book" is back again with more White updatings.
Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis (whoops — "A bankrupt expression") a unique guide (which means "without like or equal").Pub Date: May 15, 1972
ISBN: 0205632645
Page Count: 105
Publisher: Macmillan
Review Posted Online: Oct. 28, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1972
This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)
Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996
ISBN: 0-15-100227-4
Page Count: 136
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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