Book Review: The Nine
I read Bob Woodward’s The Brethren a few years back. It was the first mainstream book to describe how the US Supreme Court works, and focused on the justices’ personalities and decisions in the early to mid seventies time frame. Jefferey Toobin might have intended for his new book, The Nine to be The Brethren’s successor, but he falls a bit short.
A large portion of The Nine is about the Bush vs. Gore 2000 presidential election controversy and the recent change in court personnel in 2005. While Woodward presents facts, Toobin tends to focus more on hype and spin. It is abundantly clear that Toobin thinks the current court is too conservative and he reminds the reader of his opinion far too frequently (while I happen to agree with him, bias is bias). On the bright side, the profiles of each justice are informative and make for a good read.
The Nine gets a solid B. With more analysis and discussion of the court’s mechanics, it could have been an easy A-.