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Clarence Thomas and the Lost Constitution
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When Clarence Thomas joined the Supreme Court in 1991, he found with dismay that it was interpreting a very different Constitution from the one the framers had written--the one that had established a federal government manned by the people's own elected representatives, charged with protecting citizens' inborn rights while leaving them free to work out their individual hap
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This book is a brief introduction into the opinions and beliefs of Clarence Thomas about the fourth amendment and the fourteenth amendment to the Constitution. This is not a biography of Thomas.
In addition to the discussion of the two amendments, Magnet spent some time reviewing Thomas ‘opinion on McDonald v City of Chicago and what brought it about in Slaughter-House Cases and the United States v Cruikshank. This was about the 14th amendment. Magnet quotes Thomas as saying “living under Jim Cro ...more
In addition to the discussion of the two amendments, Magnet spent some time reviewing Thomas ‘opinion on McDonald v City of Chicago and what brought it about in Slaughter-House Cases and the United States v Cruikshank. This was about the 14th amendment. Magnet quotes Thomas as saying “living under Jim Cro ...more
A fascinating account of a great American and Supreme Court Justice, Clarence Thomas.
An Excellent Study in Character
During my law school days, I would often point out that - for all that he did good and all that he is venerated by conservatives - that it was Justice Thomas, and not Justice Scalia whose jurisprudence was pointing a path towards the future. This book provides an excellent sketch as to the character of Justice Thomas and how his form of Originalism points the way towards a radical break with the errors of recent decades and a return to the true meaning of the const ...more
During my law school days, I would often point out that - for all that he did good and all that he is venerated by conservatives - that it was Justice Thomas, and not Justice Scalia whose jurisprudence was pointing a path towards the future. This book provides an excellent sketch as to the character of Justice Thomas and how his form of Originalism points the way towards a radical break with the errors of recent decades and a return to the true meaning of the const ...more
Great book, well researched and full of some powerful insights.
This book was written by a Clarence Thomas biographer and the author is able to support the Justice’s position in several controversial decisions with relevant history details.
If you want to explore the collapse of the separation of powers from Woodrow Wilson to the present, this is an invaluable resource. That 2.6 million people are employed by our government (with 16% higher salaries and 48% higher benefits that their private sec ...more
This book was written by a Clarence Thomas biographer and the author is able to support the Justice’s position in several controversial decisions with relevant history details.
If you want to explore the collapse of the separation of powers from Woodrow Wilson to the present, this is an invaluable resource. That 2.6 million people are employed by our government (with 16% higher salaries and 48% higher benefits that their private sec ...more
Fascinating look at Clarence Thomas and the Supreme Court.
Quotes:
“(Clarence Thomas) read a review of Thomas Sowell’s Race and Economics, which reassured him that he and his grandfather weren’t the only African Americans to believe that black advancement required self-reliance, education, work skills, and pride in achievement- all subverted, Sowell argued, by job quotas, charity subsidies, and preferential treatment. That recognition meant giving up the illusion ‘that whites, having caused our pr ...more
Quotes:
“(Clarence Thomas) read a review of Thomas Sowell’s Race and Economics, which reassured him that he and his grandfather weren’t the only African Americans to believe that black advancement required self-reliance, education, work skills, and pride in achievement- all subverted, Sowell argued, by job quotas, charity subsidies, and preferential treatment. That recognition meant giving up the illusion ‘that whites, having caused our pr ...more
Smart author and subject.
Thought provoking. Makes you think and question what has already be taken away already. Both very intelligent guys. Worth reading more than once.
Thought provoking. Makes you think and question what has already be taken away already. Both very intelligent guys. Worth reading more than once.
Excellent. Really rekindled my hope in America.
To preface this, I am not a political or historical expert by any means. I hardly know anything about law. My understanding of the Constitution is fairly minimal and I do not follow (or even understand sometimes) the rulings of the Supreme Court. That being said, I found the content of this book to be incredible when it comes to Clarence Thomas.
First I’ll start off with the bad: the punctuation and grammar/vocab of this book is atrocious. I cannot even believe this got past the first round of ed ...more
First I’ll start off with the bad: the punctuation and grammar/vocab of this book is atrocious. I cannot even believe this got past the first round of ed ...more
Too politically biased for me.
Clarence Thomas and the Lost Constitution by Myron Magnet presents Justice Clarence Thomas' character development from growing up in segregated Savannah, joining in the black radicalism at college before rejecting it, and running an agency to advance equality. Greatly influenced by the philosophies of his father and particularly his grandfather, he began to doubt the ability of appointed, unelected experts and justices had a better understanding of American values and morality than the people th
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Myron Magnet pulls no punches in this short, dense, yet readable description of Clarence Thomas' judicial philosophy. The book is divided into only five chapters, telling about Thomas' early life, his legal education and the formation of his philosophy, and his decisions - mostly dissents and concurrences. As an originalist, Thomas holds that the justice has a first allegiance to the words of the Constitution and their understood meaning at the time. Stare Decisis applies only to correct decisio
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This book is an excellent interweaving of Thomas' biographical background, the history of Supreme Court jurisprudence and where it has gone astray, and Thomas' own judicial philosophy. Magnet covers an impressive amount of material in only five chapters. He is pessimistic about our constitutional order and our chances at preserving it, yet he pleads for us to heed Thomas' warnings and to follow his guidance.
Myron's skewering of past idiocy from the high bench is enjoyable, but unfortunately thos ...more
Myron's skewering of past idiocy from the high bench is enjoyable, but unfortunately thos ...more
Not so much a book on Justice Thomas as a book on the Constitution with Thomas as a lens. Still, a short but worthwhile read about how the power of our Constitution has eroded through Supreme Court activity during three key periods in history and how Justice Thomas is using his judicial opinions to stand against that wave and set the stage for successors to roll back.
There were a few points where it felt like the author had his soapbox out. Though given the nature of the book, I think it fit. I ...more
There were a few points where it felt like the author had his soapbox out. Though given the nature of the book, I think it fit. I ...more
Love that Justice Thomas' views are being presented to a popular audience. I wish the tone wasn't so haughty as it more unlikely to persuade a moderate or liberal reader.
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history and the long view, clerk foundation study
This would be an excellent book for anyone considering law school and/or politics. Only reason I didn’t give it a higher rating is that got a little to much into the weeds on some specific cases … for me, probably not for many others.
Clarence Thomas is a fascinating person, growing up as a sharecropper’s son in segregated South Carolina. Then to achieve an appointment to Supreme Court. His independent and originalist way of thinking about the constitution, especially as an African American, has ...more
Clarence Thomas is a fascinating person, growing up as a sharecropper’s son in segregated South Carolina. Then to achieve an appointment to Supreme Court. His independent and originalist way of thinking about the constitution, especially as an African American, has ...more
The writing style was a little off-putting at times but the content and presentation of historical facts were excellent.
Focused more on the history of the Supreme Court than on the life of Clarence Thomas, chapters of this book are worth reading for their alarming picture of the Court's increasing tendency to legislate from the bench, and the gradual - yet terrible - changes its decisions have wrought upon real Americans. However, this book is unlikely to sway a person who is not already sympathetic to a conservative view of the Constitution, the Court, and American law in general. It appears to be written by a c
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Loved this book. I gave it 4 stars in lieu of 5 because the middle had a lot to do w court cases which were interesting but really a bit more difficult as I am not an attorney. Worth a read from all to see how sadly we have abused our constitution from Abraham Lincoln to now, to the point that we have strayed from the founding fathers intention of freedom and liberty.
While the author has set forth a very interesting task for himself, he did not accomplish the task as well as one might have desired. I am sure he is a fine long-form journalist, Mr. Magnet wanders into tangents and rhetoric rather then allowing the history to carry the story.
This book is excellent in telling Clarence Thomas story and his judicial philosophy. Clarence Thomas is a great man. Where are the conservatives in the movie industry? His life story would make and excellent movie.
It has been long time since I read such a powerful book. The book is not one that you can read quickly. You will need to stop and think about the passage you just read. This book will make you think about how the government operates and what the Constituion means. I highly recommend this book.
Jan 10, 2021
Warren
added it
The book had fewer direct quotes from Justice Thomas’s decisions and dissents than I would have liked. Quite a bit of a justice’s idea as well as their wit is lost when summarized in someone else’s words. The book addressed Thomas’s argument against stare decisis, where the Supreme Court relies largely on past precedents, but again, that’s something I would have enjoyed more in Thomas’s own words. There were some nice passages, including one from Tocqueville’s New Despotism.
What a lively book! Americans should read this not only to learn more about Justice Thomas but also to see how we got into our present mess, where the judiciary actually rules against the Constitution.
A fine little volume on Clarence Thomas's life and jurisprudence, as well as the history and state of the highest court. What an extraordinary man Thomas is, and Constitution-loving Americans are lucky to have him.
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