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Title details for John Marshall by Richard Brookhiser - Available

John Marshall

The Man Who Made the Supreme Court

by Richard Brookhiser
Robert Fass
Audiobook (Includes supplementary content)
1 of 1 copy available
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1 of 1 copy available
The life of John Marshall, Founding Father and America's premier chief justice.
In 1801, a genial and brilliant Revolutionary War veteran and politician became the fourth chief justice of the United States. He would hold the post for 34 years (still a record), expounding the Constitution he loved. Before he joined the Supreme Court, it was the weakling of the federal government, lacking in dignity and clout. After he died, it could never be ignored again. Through three decades of dramatic cases involving businessmen, scoundrels, Native Americans, and slaves, Marshall defended the federal government against unruly states, established the Supreme Court's right to rebuke Congress or the president, and unleashed the power of American commerce. For better and for worse, he made the Supreme Court a pillar of American life.
In John Marshall, award-winning biographer Richard Brookhiser vividly chronicles America's greatest judge and the world he made.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    November 13, 2018

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9781549170973
      • File size: 274141 KB
      • Duration: 09:31:07

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • AudioFile Magazine
      By varying his tone, pacing, and volume, narrator Robert Fass brings this portrait of Chief Justice John Marshall to dramatic life. The adjustments in his reading style seem natural and appropriate. In quoting the fiery Patrick Henry, Fass nearly yells (although the editor adjusts the volume, so the effect is there without shattering the listener's eardrums). Then he takes a more theatrical tone with the words of Daniel Webster. For Marshall himself, he adopts a studied tone, which is fitting for the champion of a centrist judiciary. Fass generally takes a solemn approach for quoting court rulings. In the rest of the work, Fass carries the reading along smoothly, with an engaging tone. It would have been easy to fall into a somnolent rhythm, but Fass resists. R.C.G. © AudioFile 2014, Portland, Maine
    • AudioFile Magazine
      The music that frames the beginning of Robert Fass's narration sets the tone for the rest of this audiobook about John Marshall, who became the Supreme Court's chief justice in 1801. The work is classy, dramatic, and important, and Fass doesn't disappoint as he uses his warm, low tone and clear diction to interpret the author's words so that we can enjoy and learn from them. Fass provides a consistent delivery, pausing effectively for emphasis, which allows the drama of the court cases Marshall heard to take center stage. While Fass doesn't employ an especially expressive or elastic voice, he does enough to keep this analysis of one of our most influential Supreme Court justices interesting and noteworthy. R.I.G. © AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine
    • Kirkus

      September 15, 2018
      A brief biography of a legendary chief justice.When John Marshall (1755-1835) was sworn in as chief justice in 1801, writes National Review senior editor and biographer Brookhiser (Founders' Son: A Life of Abraham Lincoln, 2014, etc.), the Supreme Court met in a small committee room of the U.S. Capitol under the House of Representatives, a strong indication that the judiciary was the weakest of the three branches of the federal government. Yet before his death more than three decades later, "he and the Court he led had...laid down principles of laws and politics that still apply." The oldest of 15 children, Marshall had only two years of formal schooling; his true education came with his service under George Washington in the Revolutionary War. Marshall thought Washington was "the greatest Man on earth" and used Washington's selfless patriotism as a guide for the rest of his life. Following the war, Marshall established a law practice and served as a Virginia ratifying convention delegate, congressman, diplomat, and secretary of state. His lengthy tenure as chief justice was marked by vigorous defenses of the sanctity of contracts (Dartmouth College v. Woodward, 1819), the supremacy of the federal judiciary (Marbury v. Madison, 1803), and the protection of federal institutions from state interference (McCulloch v. Maryland, 1819). Yet more important than the individual decisions, notes Brookhiser, were the "dignity" that Marshall gave to the Supreme Court and his defense of the Constitution "as the people's supreme act." As for the man himself, Marshall was an affable sort who enjoyed his madeira and was devoted to his long-suffering wife, Polly. The author also provides absorbing character sketches of several of Marshall's all-but-forgotten legal contemporaries, including Luther Martin, William Pinkney, and Samuel Chase.Brookhiser's book may be overshadowed by Joel Richard Paul's recently published Without Precedent, a lengthy and well-received study of Marshall's life and times. Nevertheless, those looking for a concise, informative, and at times entertaining biography of our nation's fourth chief justice would do well to read this one.

      COPYRIGHT(2018) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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