From Publishers Weekly
Tushnet (Making Constitutional Law: Thurgood Marshall and the Supreme Court, 1961-1991), a constitutional law professor at Georgetown, captures the major facets of Marshall's remarkable career. The slim section of briefs and oral arguments, which Marshall presented as a lawyer to the Supreme Court, includes his Brown v. Board of Education brief, a 1944 brief against coerced confessions and an oral argument against halting the desegregation of Little Rock's schools. These are supplemented by a selection of writings for Crisis and other publications, including brief overviews of the progress made by different groups at various points from 1939 onward, riveting reports on the 1943 Detroit race riot and Marshall's investigation of 39 racially motivated courts-martial during the Korean War. His judicial writings include 12 of his annual remarks at the Second Circuit Judicial Conference, tributes to his Supreme Court colleague William Brennan and to his mentor, Charles Houston, reflections on the social responsibilities of the bar (such as adequate counsel for indigents and public interest litigation) and his famous speech on the Constitution's bicentennial, criticizing its flawed birth and celebrating the struggle to redeem it. The 12 opinions (mostly dissents) cover equal protection, affirmative action, privacy and free expression, poverty and criminal justice. Randall Kennedy's foreword cites Marshall's "unflagging persistence directed at exposing massive defects in American democracy," but these decisions display equal zeal for constructing and defending thoughtful, principled remedies. The concluding 100-page interview of 1977, from the Columbia Oral History Research Office, revisits earlier themes in an informal setting, while Tushnet supplies context sparingly, never intruding on Marshall's voice. Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.


From Library Journal
Tushnet (constitutional law, Georgetown Univ. Law Ctr.), one of Thurgood Marshall's former law clerks on the Supreme Court, is the author of two previous works on the civil-rights and constitutional-law work of the trailblazing Marshall, the first African American member of the U.S. Supreme Court. This volume is sure to become the standard reference for those who wish to know Marshall, one of the critical American civil rights pioneers of the 20th century, in his own words. In a career ranging from his trial and appellate work for the NAACP to his tenure as an associate justice of the Court, Marshall wrought revolutionary changes in U.S. law and politics, and this collection of his legal briefs, writings, speeches, and judicial opinions, plus a never-before-published oral interview, gives us a superior analysis of the advocate, the democrat, the dissenter, and the unflagging fighter for equality. Recommended for all libraries. Stephen K. Shaw, Northwest Nazarene Univ., Nampa, ID Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.


Vernon Jordan
"Thurgood Marshall was more than a crusader for justice, more than a torch-bearer for liberty; he was a teacher who taught us to believe in the shield of justice and the sword of truth."


Bookshelf
The first book to collect his own words, offering a comprehensive selection of his most significant writings.


New York Law Journal
...a welcome anthology of Mr. Marshall's writings as lawyer, judge, and storyteller.


Book Description
Much has been written about Thurgood Marshall, but this is the first book to collect his own words. Here are briefs he filed as a lawyer, oral arguments for the landmark school desegregation cases, investigative reports on race riots and racism in the Army, speeches and articles outlining the history of civil rights and criticizing the actions of more conservative jurists, Supreme Court opinions now widely cited in Constitutional law, a long and complete oral autobiography, and much more. Marshall's impact on American race relations was greater than that of anyone else this century, for it was he who ended legal segregation in the United States. His victories as a lawyer for the NAACP broke the color line in housing, transportation, voting, and schools by overturning the long-established "separate-but-equal" doctrine. But Marshall was attentive to all social inequalities: no Supreme Court justice has ever been more consistent in support of freedom of expression, affirmative action, women's rights, abortion rights, and the right to consensual sex among adults; no justice has ever fought so hard against economic inequality, police brutality, and capital punishment.


About the Author
Mark V. Tushnet is a professor of constitutional law at Georgetown University Law Center and is the author of Making Civil Rights Law: Thurgood Marshall and the Supreme Court, 1936-1961 and Making Constitutional Law: Thurgood Marshall and the Supreme Court, 1961-1991. He lives in Washington, D.C.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Thurgood Marshall's impact on American race relations was greater than that of anyone else in the 20th century, for it was he who ended legal segregation in the United States. His victories as a lawyer for the NAACP broke the color line in housing, transportation, voting, and, temporarily at least, in schools, by overturning the longestablished "separate but equal" doctrine. But Marshall was attentive to all social inequalities, not just racial ones: no Supreme Court justice has ever more consistently supported freedom of expression, affirmative action, women's rights, abortion rights, and the right to consensual sex among adults; no justice has ever fought so hard against economic inequality, police brutality, and capital punishment.

Much has been written about Thurgood Marshall, but this is the first book to collect his own words. It includes, for the first time in print, his lengthy oral reminiscences; here are also briefs he filed as a lawyer, oral arguments for the landmark school desegregation cases, investigative reports on race riots and racism in the Army, speeches and articles outlining the history of civil rights and criticizing the actions of more conservative jurists, Supreme Court opinions now widely cited in constitutional law, and much more. This volume is essential reading for anyone interested in law, race relations, or American history.

FROM THE CRITICS

Library Journal

Tushnet (constitutional law, Georgetown Univ. Law Ctr.), one of Thurgood Marshall's former law clerks on the Supreme Court, is the author of two previous works on the civil-rights and constitutional-law work of the trailblazing Marshall, the first African American member of the U.S. Supreme Court. This volume is sure to become the standard reference for those who wish to know Marshall, one of the critical American civil rights pioneers of the 20th century, in his own words. In a career ranging from his trial and appellate work for the NAACP to his tenure as an associate justice of the Court, Marshall wrought revolutionary changes in U.S. law and politics, and this collection of his legal briefs, writings, speeches, and judicial opinions, plus a never-before-published oral interview, gives us a superior analysis of the advocate, the democrat, the dissenter, and the unflagging fighter for equality. Recommended for all libraries. Stephen K. Shaw, Northwest Nazarene Univ., Nampa, ID Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

Booknews

A collection of writing by the Supreme Court justice who worked to end legal segregation in the US and who supported freedom of expression, women's rights, abortion rights, and the right to consensual sex among adults. The collection includes 100 pages of oral reminiscences (in print for the first time), plus briefs he filed as a lawyer, oral arguments for the landmark school desegregation cases, investigative reports on race riots and racism in the Army, speeches and articles outlining the history of civil rights and criticizing the actions of more conservative jurists, and Supreme Court opinions now widely cited in constitutional law. Tushnet teaches constitutional law at Georgetown University Law Center. He has written two other books on Thurgood Marshall. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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