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My Grandfather's Son

Clarence Thomas

4.15 · Rating details · 2,943 ratings · 493 reviews

Provocative, inspiring, and unflinchingly honest, My Grandfather's Son is the story of one of America's most remarkable and controversial leaders, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, told in his own words.

Thomas speaks out, revealing the pieces of his life he holds dear, detailing the suffering and injustices he has overcome, including the acrimonious and polarizing Sen ...more

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Hardcover, 289 pages

Published October 1st 2007 by Harper

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Dec 28, 2007 Jennifer rated it really liked it

Recommends it for: adults

I really enjoyed this book. If someone had asked me a month ago if I would like to read Thomas' autobiography, I would have looked at them like they were crazy! :)

But, I saw him interviewed recently on EWTN by Raymond Arroyo and I was stunned by how humble and self-effacing this Supreme Court justice was. In 1991, when he was confirmed to the SC, I was newly married and politically naive. I pretty much thought Anita Hill was a poor victim to this brutal man...just what the media wanted me to bel ...more

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Apr 14, 2016 Patrick Peterson rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Recommends it for: young people, libertarians,

Shelves: audiobook, political, self-help, sense-of-life, history, philosophy, autobiography, rand, reference

Listened and reviewed - May 2014? - Justice Thomas reads this book himself. Very sober, deliberate style. It might even be considered a bit boring in the beginning. But gradually and steadily it builds into a gripping tale of perseverance and strong, thoughtful and independent character.

At the end of the 2nd of 9 CDs (12 hours), he is about a 20 or 21 year old junior at Holy Cross College, and he just discovered "Ann Rand." He says he did not accept all the tenets of Rand's philosophy of Objecti ...more

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Jul 21, 2011 Marvin Watts rated it it was amazing

One of my heroes, a man who had to struggle for what he wanted to achieve. He didn't blame others for whatever mistakes he may have made. He took personal responsibility for them. It was a shame what his enemies put him through, but he's a Supreme Court justice. ...more

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Jan 14, 2008 Kevin Brooks rated it it was amazing

I must say that this book is as pivotal, revolutionary and impacting as the The Auto-Biography of Malcom-X, a book I read in college at Grambling State University over 15 years ago. Malcom X’s story had a tremendous impact on my life.
I am proud to say that this book is a must read for anyone who says that they are concerned with the plight of Black folks in America. ......Clarence Thomas epitomizes The Courage TO Be as Paul TIllich profoundly purports in his book of the same title. As I read t
I must say that this book is as pivotal, revolutionary and impacting as the The Auto-Biography of Malcom-X, a book I read in college at Grambling State University over 15 years ago. Malcom X’s story had a tremendous impact on my life.
I am proud to say that this book is a must read for anyone who says that they are concerned with the plight of Black folks in America. ......Clarence Thomas epitomizes The Courage TO Be as Paul TIllich profoundly purports in his book of the same title. As I read the story of Clarence Thomas, I came to some resolution of the pain, insecurity and angry as a young Blackman in America and become inspired and motivated knowing that this brother.... Again, I say proudly----this BROTHER--has had the same thoughts, fears, concerns anger and hopes about his lot in this country. Clarence took the Bull by the Horns and rode him, received the cards that were dealt and played them, and walked the stony road barefooted and didn't say a mumbling word. He didn't say a mumbling word because he was built for it by a Grandfather who was Strong, Proud, Revered, Independent, Pro-Black, VERY BLACK(literally-an injustice that we still don't address today) and Unapologetically and Confrontationally American!
I challenge anyone who questions the notion of How Black He Is by examing their own personal lives compared to his contrasting the level of discipline that his grandfather fostered for the hopes of him realizing that America did not owe him anything.....better yet...American belongs to him! I felt quite stupid as I reminisced on my own bandwagon attitude as shouted the immature comments of Uncle Tom, Handkerchief Head, Boot licking, and Butt kissing NEGRO which was the common ridiculous lamentations by many of my radical and liberal Black Revolutionary friends of the past 15 years.....
Friends that are not taking care of their children, smoking weed, selling drugs, and broke from not fostering any since of economic security for themselves. I must say that Justice Thomas "fans the smoke" and "breaks the mirrors" of those in the so-called Leaders in the Black Community who says they are for the people.
I wonder if any of these Self-Anointed Saviors for a community whom they depend on for their relevance can take the level of criticism that Brother Thomas has received for the past 10 plus years...."Every day I'm Hustling" is the mantra of the so-called Black Community today!!!!!This books is prophetic critique and examinination of those who are Hustling Our Communities......Not by throwing slurs that rhyme...but by the hard work, discipline, and academic rigor that our ancestors fostered for us to be the as the standard in a country who looks at us a mediocre and disinherited.
Go Ahead Kick-Azz Tom!

...more

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Oct 29, 2007 Annette rated it liked it

Recommends it for: Legal Minds/Well Intentioned Liberals

This is a must read for any person who reads Thomas' SCOTUS opinions and think "WTF IS HE THINKING"? A very important back story on Justice Thomas' difficult and and poverty-stricken personal history. Raised by his grandfather to believe that personal responsibility is the ONLY way to succeed in your life, he is a true believer of the "pull-yourself-up-by-the-bootstraps" philosophy.

His opinion in Grutter v. Bollinger (the University of Michigan/affirmative action cases) makes much more sense in This is a must read for any person who reads Thomas' SCOTUS opinions and think "WTF IS HE THINKING"? A very important back story on Justice Thomas' difficult and and poverty-stricken personal history. Raised by his grandfather to believe that personal responsibility is the ONLY way to succeed in your life, he is a true believer of the "pull-yourself-up-by-the-bootstraps" philosophy.

His opinion in Grutter v. Bollinger (the University of Michigan/affirmative action cases) makes much more sense in light of this upbringing. Thomas spent years studying Catholism in seminary and got accepted to Harvard Law (declined to accept admission) and Yale Law school. He states he still keeps his diploma from Yale in a box in his basement because it became very apparent that a law degree from Yale meant one thing for a white person, and another thing for a black person. (He placed a 25 cent sticker on it reflecting what he thought his degree was worth.) He opposes welfare because he saw first hand what reliance upon an "entitlement" system did to his own sister. (Is it easier to risk everything on only the possibility of success or the assured collection of a steady check?)

He spent over a decade at the EEOC turning the agency around and was a huge advocate for the disabled. He wants an EQUAL playing ground for everyone, not an imbalanced and preferential treatment for segments of society because it is impossible to live down the true or untrue thoughts that "Oh, he got ___ because he's black."

He also writes that there's nothing more dangerous than a liberal white person who takes a paternalistic approach to the "poor minority who doesn't really know what's right for themselves." He was seriously wronged in the Anita Hill fiasco and repeatedly in college and in his professional career. I can't count how many times I've seen editorial cartoons or op-eds that claim that Thomas is a traitor to his race since "he used affirmative action" to get accepted to Yale and "quotas" to get a seat on the highest court. How exactly can Thomas live that down or prove that thinking wrong?

I still am left in the dark about his dissents in the habeas corpus cases where he thinks the executive can incarcerate anyone (even US citizens). For someone who is so vocal about being oppressed by well-intentioned governmental policies, one would think Thomas would see the danger in denying habeas.

But the book clears up his dissents in 1. Gonzales v. Raich where he wanted to allow CA to proceed with the legalization of medicinal marijuana and his concurrence in 2. US v. Lopez where he said the federal government did not have authority to outlaw guns near schools and 3. US v. Morrison where he said that Congress does not have authority to pass the Violence Against Women Act. (All his opinions were based on teh old-school interpretation of the Commerce Clause.)

While I still do not agree with many of Thomas' political opinions, I have gained a greater respect for the man and a greater understanding of his beliefs.
...more

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May 29, 2016 Kathleen rated it it was ok

2.5 stars. First, the good. The opening 50 pages or so are spectacular. Justice Thomas grew up in rural poverty in tiny Pinpoint, GA. The details are fascinating, especially about how his family coped with living in a segregated society. His tales about his grandparents and their discipline (especially from his grandfather) are told so lovingly and with such heart. It's clear that Justice Thomas believes that he owes so much of his life and success to the lessons he learned from his grandfather. ...more

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Feb 07, 2008 Nate Cooley rated it it was amazing

Shelves: books-i-read-in-2007, books-i-highly-recommend

Justice Thomas's book, "My Grandfather's Son", was to me an enthralling and incredibly introspective story on how one of the most enigmatic public figures in our nation's recent history got to where he is today.

For a long time, Clarence Thomas has been a mystery to me (and I am sure to many others as well). In "My Grandfather's Son" though, Justice Thomas opens the shutters to his life (his words, not mine) and bares his soul. He talks openly about what it was like to be abandoned by his father Justice Thomas's book, "My Grandfather's Son", was to me an enthralling and incredibly introspective story on how one of the most enigmatic public figures in our nation's recent history got to where he is today.

For a long time, Clarence Thomas has been a mystery to me (and I am sure to many others as well). In "My Grandfather's Son" though, Justice Thomas opens the shutters to his life (his words, not mine) and bares his soul. He talks openly about what it was like to be abandoned by his father and raised by his "Daddy" (his maternal grandfather). It was illuminating to read Thomas's feelings about his grandfather as he contemplated and compared his strict almost loathsome upbringing juxtaposed agianst his grandfather's affection for Thomas's own son, Jamal.

Thomas talks about his collegiate radicalism and the anger and rage that fueled his politics. Most impressively though, Thomas dicusses in detail the evolution of his ideology. He states that he had been "sneering at the simplemindedness of his [grandfather's] philosophy of self-reliance, but now it was making sense to [him] again." He also asked, "If I was truly serious about helping other people, I'd have started by helping myself, and the first thing I had to do was chain the beast of rage and resentment that threatened to wreck my acedemic career and my life. Of course I had every reason to be outraged by the experience of blacks in America, but I had no right to confuse their collective sufferings with my own personal experiences."

Maybe that is why I enjoyed reading about Justice Thomas's life ... I realized just how much of an individual he truly is. He talked about reading "Atlas Shrugged" and "The Fountainhead" and how Ayn Rand's philosophy of Objectivism (radical individualism) seared him to his core. He realized how hollow the leftist's "Do-Your-Own-Thing" mantra truly was, labeling it superficial and strictly limited. Thomas himself stated, "Merely because I was black, it seemed, I was supposed to listen to Hugh Maskela instead of Carole King, just as I was expected to be a radical, not a conservative. I no longer cared to play that game ... The black people I knew came from different places and backgrounds - social, economic, even ethnic - yet the color of our skin was somehow supposed to make us identical in spite of our differences. I didn't buy it. Of course we had all experienced racism in one way or another, but that did not mean we had to think alike."

Thomas's consevrativism does not make him an "Uncle Tom". In fact, his conservativism is an informed and thoughtful reaction to the true problems facing the African-American community. As far as I am concerned, the black community ought to revere Justice Thomas as a hero as well as other African-American individualists such as Thomas Sowell, Jay Parker, and even Juan Williams and Bill Cosby.

Some have viewed Justice Thomas's book as a personification of his bitterness. However, I believe it is much more complicated than that. It is clear from the last couple chapters that what Anita Hill did was despicable. But even more contemptible are those who put her up to it, the lefist special interest groups and women's groups. Simply put, the Anita Hill allegation was about abortion rather than sexual harassment. It is clear to me now that Thomas's assessment of Hill is undoubtedly true ... she was/is an ambituous woman marked by immaturity. Thomas states in his book that Ms. Hill touted her Yale Law degree as reason enough to qualify her for a promotion. This is noteworthy because in an October 2, 2007 editorial in the NYT written by Anita Hill she again refutes Thomas's claim that she was a below-average employee by balllyhooing again that she "had gone to Yale Law School" - as if that alone makes someone a qualified employee.

Bravo to Justice Thomas!!! He is an American Treasure. If I am ever in a Wal-mart parking lot late one night and I see a larger custom-built RV in the back corner of the lot, I may just knock on the door and shake his hand and tell him thank you to his face. ...more

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Jun 09, 2020 Sam Taylor rated it it was amazing

Shelves: must-reads

One of my favorite books that I have ever read. A strongly written memoir authored by my favorite SCOTUS justice, Justice Thomas’ story has left me inspired and motivated. Thomas’ life up to his confirmation to the Supreme Court is one that shows how small steps are necessary in becoming a leader and how challenging the accuracy of conventional thought is required when deciding what to stand for.

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May 26, 2008 jimstoic rated it it was ok

Recommended to jimstoic by: Judge Brian Hill

Shelves: law

My Constitutional Law professor loaned this to me. I found it interesting. There's actually a lot inspiring about Justice Thomas's story. Unfortunately it's told with a lack of self awareness. For example, here's his description of a meeting with Women Employed (p. 165):

"About a hundred mostly white women showed up. They gave every impression of being successful, and judging by the questions they asked me, they were smart and sophisticated as well. Yet I couldn't understand how angry they seemed ...more

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Jan 18, 2016 Brian rated it really liked it

Clarence Thomas is a man who has succeeded because of his intellect, astonishing work ethic, persistence, drive, and faith. In his memoir, "My Grandfather's Son", he details the life that these qualities created. The fact that he seems to not be bitter is testament to his personal faith and integrity. I picked up the book knowing very little about Thomas' life before the infamous confirmation hearings. Everything that happened before than is vastly more interesting. The section on his youth and ...more

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May 05, 2012 Martha rated it it was amazing

Shelves: biographies, own-books, my-favorites

“And now you know the rest of the story.”

This autobiography by Clarence Thomas is amazing. Looking at both sides now, I have to say Clarence Thomas’ credibility has risen off the charts for me. Back in 1991, I watched the confirmation hearings and wondered a few times, “Wow, could he really have said these things?” even though I was rooting for him to be nominated. I did think Anita Hill sounded a little too slick, but once in a while I questioned it. While watching these hearings, I was in awe ...more

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Dec 11, 2019 Alicia rated it really liked it

Loved this autobiography. Clarence had a rough start in life but ended up living with his grandpa (“Daddy”) who (despite very little money and intense prejudice in their community) did everything he could to help Clarence learn to work hard and make something of his life. Clarence tells it like it is but doesn’t fall into the victim mentality, despite the racial prejudice he faced throughout his life. He feels very strongly that affirmative action is not in the best interest of blacks: while att Loved this autobiography. Clarence had a rough start in life but ended up living with his grandpa (“Daddy”) who (despite very little money and intense prejudice in their community) did everything he could to help Clarence learn to work hard and make something of his life. Clarence tells it like it is but doesn’t fall into the victim mentality, despite the racial prejudice he faced throughout his life. He feels very strongly that affirmative action is not in the best interest of blacks: while attending Yale Law School, he felt that people considered him less smart because he had easier requirements to be admitted. It was interesting to hear about how he met Anita Hill, worked with her, helped her find a better job, politely responded to her phone calls over the years, and then out of nowhere she turned on him and made up allegations of harassment to try to keep him off of the Supreme Court. It’s a horrible, dishonest tactic the Democrats use against judicial nominees, but thankfully Thomas (and later Kavanagh) prevailed through the horror of it all. Thomas is by no means perfect (e.g. drank a lot while younger, divorced his first wife) but he has sure tried hard to overcome mistakes and weaknesses to become a man of integrity who does much good for our country now. Very inspirational book!

“Then he looked me in the eye and said, ‘Clarence, as a member of a group that has been treated shabbily by the majority in this country, why would you want to give the government more power over your personal life?’ That stopped me cold. I thought of what Daddy had said when I asked him why he’d never gone on public assistance. ‘Because it takes away your manhood”... Real freedom meant independence from government intrusion, which in turn meant that you had to take responsibility for your own decisions. When the government assumes that responsibility, it takes away your freedom -- and wasn’t freedom the very thing for which blacks in America were fighting?” -p. 73

“Daddy had told me that while life was hard, enough elbow grease would make it easier...But he’d said something else as well: ‘Son, give out but don’t give up. Get up every day and put one foot in front of the other.’” -p. 175 ...more

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Jan 19, 2021 Pegg rated it it was amazing

Wow. Just ... wow. What an inspirational story. Clarence Thomas's life is truly an amazing testimony to family and faith. He doesn't hold anything back. He's clear about his own failings, his bad decisions, and his fight against anger and radicalism in his school years. Thomas talks about deep south racism when it was *real.* When rope lynchings still happened. (As opposed to the character lynching he was subjected to later on.) He talks about rebelling against the grandfather who raised him and ...more

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May 11, 2008 Jennefer rated it really liked it

I was in college when the Senate confirmation hearings for the nomination of Clarence Thomas were taking place. It was the first time that I had become really interested in any current or political event. I became so engulfed in what to me was the apparent injustice with which he was being treated; I couldn't stop watching the hearing. I cut class for a few days so that I could participate as a spectator.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading Thomas’ personal account of his life. The progression and refin ...more

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Dec 03, 2013 Christian D. Orr rated it it was amazing

A thoroughly readable, insightful, and informative book, that gives his first-hand insight into the life and mindset of Justice Thomas. An eye-opening look at how he overcame extreme poverty (for example, carrying all of his belongings in two grocery bags) and racism (not just from whites, but suprisingly from lighter-skinned blacks as well) during his childhood in the Jim Crow-era Deep South, the values and work ethic instilled in him by his "Daddy" (his maternal grandfather), his collegiate ye ...more

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Sep 15, 2013 Todd Kruse rated it liked it

Overall I enjoyed this book because I learned a great deal about Justice Thomas' childhood and his struggles with drinking and financial challenges. I had no idea of the problems he dealt with on his way to the Supreme Court but he did not 'close the loop' really on these personal struggles which leaves a reader wondering if Thomas has managed these demons.

I was left with the impression that Justice Thomas was never really at peace with himself so given his lifetime tenure on the Court as a Jus ...more

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Oct 16, 2013 Lorna added it

Excellent! Judge Thomas is candid about his struggles as a successful black man in a white world. Pulls no punches regarding the negative aspects of the political scene but also doesn't white wash his own failings and negative attitudes. The concluding chapters, detailing the ordeal he went through prior to his confirmation to the Supreme Court, were powerful. His spiritual journey, away from his early faith and then back to an even stronger, closer walk with God was inspiring. ...more

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Jul 15, 2012 Joseph Lewis rated it really liked it

Shelves: non-fiction

Read it and unlike so many autobiographies - sort of - believed it. Saw him speak a few times at the Churchill dinners in DC. Awfully glad he's on the court. ...more

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Aug 20, 2018 Rohit Sudarshan rated it really liked it

Painful and poignant, Clarence Thomas’ memoir very much made me feel the intense bigotry of segregated Georgia but also the intolerance of the Catholic Church and the prejudice of elite institutions. In laying bare its impact on his psyche, Thomas makes himself remarkably vulnerable in ways that few powerful people are willing to do. He describes the feeling of shame at being called ABC (America’s Blackest Child) by his African American childhood peers and the hateful eyes and slurs that accompa Painful and poignant, Clarence Thomas’ memoir very much made me feel the intense bigotry of segregated Georgia but also the intolerance of the Catholic Church and the prejudice of elite institutions. In laying bare its impact on his psyche, Thomas makes himself remarkably vulnerable in ways that few powerful people are willing to do. He describes the feeling of shame at being called ABC (America’s Blackest Child) by his African American childhood peers and the hateful eyes and slurs that accompanied him when he left home and found himself as the only African American in social and professional settings. Perhaps the most memorable example at his sensitivity to the unfair treatment he received was by a mentor that sought to correct his manner of speech. Even though he acknowledges the good intentions of his mentor, Thomas says that it has continued to make him shy to speak in public. This puts his silence on the bench, a point for which he is frequently mocked, in a very different light.

Other memoirs tend to emphasize the overcoming of adversity while Thomas focuses at length on the adversity itself and how success was not a triumph over it but rather a coping mechanism. Black conservatives often face the criticism that they deemphasize the role of systemic racism. This particular criticism cannot be leveled at Thomas. While his tone is restrained, he discusses multiple layers of racial prejudice, particularly the harmfulness of the passive indifference of his fellow students and “friends.” In fact, his attention to race is so nuanced I found myself in some agreement with his perspectives, much to my own shock. His conviction that desegregation, through the bussing of school children, harmed black families and black children by thrusting them in hostile environments, is well supported. Although I don’t believe that the program was without merits, his point that social programs and policies are too often pushed based on theory rather than attention to how it will tangibly impact people is important.

His conservative ideals seem very much to be consistent with his interest in helping the poor Georgian community that raised him as well as fellow African Americans. It was refreshing that he generally used his ideals to apply praise and criticism to other black empowerment movements. For example, he gave praise to the beliefs of growing Black Muslims because the movement, in his interpretation, preached conservative self-reliance. Having said that, there are times when his criticism of the welfare state and “handouts” feel excessive. His account of his own sister as dependent on welfare was largely disproven by a piece in the Chicago Tribune and shows Thomas to be more politically minded than he would like others to believe.

Any discussion of Clarence Thomas’ actual jurisprudence has been influenced by the Anita Hill testimony. Thomas here had an opportunity to direct some sensitivity toward her. Even if he believes her to be a pawn of pro-choice liberals that slandered him, the treatment she experienced from the Senate Judiciary Committee and members of the American public must have reminded him somewhat of the racism he also received. Like him, she was a southerner that worked hard to attend Yale and found her race to be a barrier to employment. Thomas doesn’t acknowledge any of this and merely addresses her as mediocre at her job and suggests her employment at the EEOC was a matter of personal charity. I suppose it’s to be expected that he would not reserve much favorable commentary about her, but his mentions of her exude gaslighting. It’s a contrast to the careful attention he gives to other topics.
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Aug 23, 2020 Brian rated it it was amazing

In these emotionally-charged times of perceived racial injustice, it is refreshing to read the modest memoir of Supreme Court Associate Justice Clarence Thomas. By shedding light on his own remarkable path from utter poverty to his current position, it is plain that there are and have been considerable opportunities available for hard-working Americans of all races. It is also clear how unrelenting the political process can be.

The book focuses on the events leading to Thomas' turbulent Supreme In these emotionally-charged times of perceived racial injustice, it is refreshing to read the modest memoir of Supreme Court Associate Justice Clarence Thomas. By shedding light on his own remarkable path from utter poverty to his current position, it is plain that there are and have been considerable opportunities available for hard-working Americans of all races. It is also clear how unrelenting the political process can be.

The book focuses on the events leading to Thomas' turbulent Supreme Court nomination process, and it is interesting to witness the duplicitous behavior of key Democrats - the party that portrays itself as fighting racial injustice. Reading the book now, as Joe Biden prepares his bid for the presidency, it is elucidating to witness the partisan vigor and duplicity with which he attacked Thomas during the Senate hearings leading to the latter's confirmation.

While I realize that a memoir is naturally inclined to paint it's author in a positive, if not heroic hue, it was heartening to witness Thomas' private struggles and weaknesses, especially in his personal life. He struggled with alcohol, a failed first marriage, crushing debt and despair while managing to achieve success professionally. The wisdom he acquired from a legion of mentors during his life was both inspirational and universal.

Perhaps most instructive was the clear confirmation that political affiliations and partisanship often run much deeper and orthogonal to decency, empathy, and moral principals. It was fascinating to witness even ostensibly non-partisan organizations such as the NAACP promote and defend left-leaning blacks, while disowning black conservatives. Although it might be tempting to assume that it was simply opposition specific to Thomas, such organizations do not have a noble record in supporting other stalwart black conservatives the likes of Walter Williams and Thomas Sowell.

It is darkly reassuring to realize that the recent battle surrounding Judge Brett Kavanaugh's Supreme Court nomination, the current mudslinging over the government response to COVID-19, and the court appointment of a special amicus to prosecute Michael Flynn after the Justice Department's withdrawal of charges are remarkably similar to past turmoils. Human nature appears to be consistent, leading to repetitive events across time. The same is true for human virtues, as witnessed in the outpouring of support and empathy for Thomas.

Although I surely don't share all of his values, I'm heartened that Judges such as Thomas sit on the Supreme Court and am reassured that there is some solace in recognizing the degree to which the exaggerated political histrionics of the present are not as historically unprecedented as we might be deceived into believing. Would I love to exchange the current presidential candidates for the eloquent humor of President Reagan (R) or the calm constitutionality of President Cleveland (D)? Absolutely! Fortunately, Thomas' memoir reminds us that it is often the appointees that leave the longest and deepest impact, muting the immature rants of politicians of all persuasions. ...more

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Feb 23, 2021 Joyce rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

This memoir was a page-turner, in which Justice Thomas lays out his own intellectual, professional, emotional, and personal journey and growth from his birth in Pinpoint, Georgia to his being called to the bench of the Supreme Court of the United States. Two major themes that run throughout the book are: Thomas' father-son relationship with his grandfather; and the struggle against and effects of racism, on a professional and personal level.

I enjoyed reading Thomas' reasoning for some of the le ...more

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Jul 21, 2018 David rated it really liked it

Recommends it for: All open-minded persons.

Recommended to David by: Lauded by some newsman commenting on Trump's new supreme-court nomination

Memoir begins with Thomas's hard-scrabble childhood and ends with his hard-fought confirmation to the U.S. Supreme Court. And yes, everything about his life to that point was HARD.

The opening material about growing up poorer-than-dirt-poor in the Jim Crow South is eye-opening and something worth reading to today's fortunate children. But his upbringing by his disciplined and determined grandparents molded his character and his faith. At times he wandered from his faith, and sometimes he drank t ...more

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Dec 14, 2020 Erik rated it it was amazing

This is quite a fascinating story of a very improbable journey from poor rural Georgia to the Supreme Court of the United States of America. I didn't know very much at all about Clarence Thomas before reading this book, and now I have a lot of respect for the man. I found myself to be very closely aligned with many of his views on life and politics.

The whole story of the attacks he suffered during the process of confirmation to the Supreme Court was very disheartening to me. It reinforced my cyn ...more

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Dec 03, 2020 Jamie Huston rated it really liked it

A solid, worthwhile story that impresses me with its passion and honesty. Thomas saw a lot of racism and hypocrisy in his life, and he spent many ears fighting in various ways, but he really pulls no punches with his own failures--I'm impressed with how simply he owns up to how he made some of the same mistakes his father made, and how that haunts him.

I'm not sure if I wish he'd spent more or less time dwelling on his grandfather's looming influence on him. I suppose the final balance is about r ...more

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Feb 13, 2020 Bev rated it it was amazing

Shelves: biography

This was extremely readable and an inspirational biography. Thomas was raised by his grandfather as his parents were not able to or didn't care to raise him. His grandfather was extremely strict, made him work from dawn to night. Lived in Georgia where life was too easy in the summer and youth got in trouble, so grandparents built a home on a farm where Thomas and his brother couldn't be around bad influence and had to work hard. He had a tough life but when he became an adult he realized he own ...more

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Jul 09, 2019 Erin Bottger (Bouma) rated it it was amazing

As I read this autobiography of Clarence Thomas, the man grew substantially before my eyes. From a rural Georgia boyhood of barefoot poverty and dislocation, he journeyed, along with his militant generation of Blacks, through the Jim Crow South, on to radical college days, Yale Law School, pioneering government work, a failed marriage, controversial public prominence, remarriage, and an embattled acceptance hearing to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court.

And, the rock that got him through was his gr As I read this autobiography of Clarence Thomas, the man grew substantially before my eyes. From a rural Georgia boyhood of barefoot poverty and dislocation, he journeyed, along with his militant generation of Blacks, through the Jim Crow South, on to radical college days, Yale Law School, pioneering government work, a failed marriage, controversial public prominence, remarriage, and an embattled acceptance hearing to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court.

And, the rock that got him through was his grandfather, "Daddy" and step-grandmother in Savannah who took him in, along with his brother, and guided him with a firm Catholic faith and wisdom for life. Daddy used strong discipline and little affection to raise him into a man of character and value. The boys had little playtime and lots of chores, no school sports or Cub Scouts but many visits to the public library. Thomas was bright and, when applying himself, did well at school.

Of course, there was Church every Sunday and Clarence becomes an altar boy. Daddy and the two boys (wih help) build a four-room house on some family property. They moved in 1957 and Clarence lived on and worked the farm every summer four the next 10 years.

"The family farm and our unheated oil truck became my most important classrooms, the schools in which Daddy passed on the wisdom he had acquired in the course of his long life as an ill-educated, modestly successful black man in the Deep South. Despite the hardships he had faced, there was no bitterness or self-pity in his heart. As for bad luck, he didn't believe in it. Instead, he put his faith in his own unaided effort-- the one factor in life that he could control- and he taught Myers and me to do the same. Unable to do anything about the racial bigotry and lack of education that had narrowed his own horizons, he put his hope in the future in 'my two boys', as he always called us. 'I am going to send you boys to school and teach you how to work so you can have a better chance than I did,' he said. We were his second chance to live, to take part in America's opportunities, and he was willing to sacrifice his own comfort so that they would be fully open to us.
Even then I understood that he had rescued me from difficult circumstances, but it was not until long afterward that I grasped how profoundly Daddy, Aunt Tina, and the nuns of St. Benedict's had changed my life. Sometimes their strict rules chafed but they also gave me a feeling of security and, above all, they opened doors of opportunity leading to a path that took me far from the cramped world into which I had been born. In Pinpoint I was a little Negro boy growing up among hardworking but uneducated people. From there I moved to the confusion and squalor of a run-down tenement in Savannah, where I led a life of being cold and not knowing when I would feel warmth again, of constant, gnawing hunger and not knowing when I would eat again, a life in which knowledge trickled in by the thimbleful when I yearned for floods of truth. To stay there would have doomed me to a dismal life of ignorance, perhaps even of crime-- a life lost before it started."

Clarence closely observed how Daddy handled everyday life and insults. "Now I understood why he needed a drink when he came home from the humiliating task of getting his business license when he received a traffic ticket... or when a white woman called him boy in front of Myers and me. Every southern black had known such moments and felt the rage that threatened to burn through the masks of meekness and submission behind which we hid our true feelings. It was like a beast that lay in wait to devour us. Some fought it with drink, others with prayer. You can hear the struggle in the soulful wails of gospel singers and the passionate moans of blues singers."

Clarence had many stormy years pursuing his college education, learning to live surrounded by white academic and political culture, reacting with Black Power "Brothers", and even breaking off with Daddy for a time. Still, he moved forward, seized opportunities offered and evolved toward a conservative political position, inspired by Regan.

The book concludes on the twin victories of a happy second, supportive marriage and the most contentious Congressional hearing trying to smear his name with allegations of sexual harassment. In the end, he is appointed to the Highest Court and continues to distinguish himself and uphold the U.S. Constitution every day.

I love this man. God bless him.
...more

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Jun 06, 2020 Patti Alexander rated it it was amazing

A great read about his life & the grandfather who saved him

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Feb 07, 2021 Kyle Brennan rated it it was ok

Like most autobiographies, the first half is pretty interesting and the second half is horribly self-serving.

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Jan 01, 2018 Sharon rated it it was amazing

What an amazing story of a child born into poverty, raised in poverty by grandparents determined to give him a better life and is now serving on the Supreme Court. Honest and painful at times, Judge Thomas doesn't pull any punches about mistakes he made, yet his determination to live life for the long term inspires the reader to strive to do his best no matter what the circumstances. ...more

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Apr 24, 2008 Beth rated it really liked it

I can’t say I’m terribly interested in either race or politics, so the fact that a) I sought out this book (this was following a glimpse of an interview with Justice Clarence Thomas; my father-in-law shared it with me a year ago while we were on vacation) and b) I actually enjoyed this rather compelling memoir was surprising.

Like many others of my generation (okay, I took a nonscientific poll consisting of one other person — my husband), we’ve heard of Clarence Thomas but knew almost nothing abo I can’t say I’m terribly interested in either race or politics, so the fact that a) I sought out this book (this was following a glimpse of an interview with Justice Clarence Thomas; my father-in-law shared it with me a year ago while we were on vacation) and b) I actually enjoyed this rather compelling memoir was surprising.

Like many others of my generation (okay, I took a nonscientific poll consisting of one other person — my husband), we’ve heard of Clarence Thomas but knew almost nothing about him, other than this: he was a black Supreme Court justice and he was accused of sexual harassment. I was just eleven when it had been all over the news for those few months, impressionable but hardly able to process exactly what all of the slander meant or what the ultimate outcome was.

I was glad, then, that Justice Thomas wrote this memoir and I could get a more true idea of who this man was. When I told Nathan a little about the man, he responded that he sounded like a nice guy — but nice isn’t really the word I’d use. Sure, he was polite and professional. And he had done a lot of growth throughout his book, and he doesn’t spin it — he matter-of-factly admits to the things in his life that he was ashamed of (sexual harassment wasn’t one of them — he denies that it happened at all, and I believe him).

How would I describe Justice Thomas, then? A man who is hard-working and talented — but mostly hard-working. A man of integrity, true to his word. A man of character. I came away from this book proud that he was one of our nine justices.

And I came away from this book a little disgusted at politics and the media. It is so disappointing that people’s names and reputations are permanently smeared, all in the name of democracy. Yes, we want the best people representing us and making decisions in our government — and yes, that might mean we need to learn about the negative things that might hinder their performance. But why are unrelated private details brought up and flaunted on the evening news? I couldn’t help but think of the recent presidential campaign (probably because Joe Biden had been mentioned several times in this book, and consequently, my opinion of our new vice president has really diminished) and all the mud-slinging that went along with it. I think both Obama and McCain were put through the wringer, but so was Sarah Palin — and the attacks on her character were personal to her and her family. Why anyone signs up for any of this is beyond me … but I’m glad for the honest ones who enter into the public eye, who lead with courage and conviction.

Justice Thomas is one of these, and I’m glad I read this book so I could come to appreciate that about him. ...more

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About Clarence Thomas

Clarence Thomas

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Clarence Thomas (J.D., Yale Law School, 1974; A.B. English literature, College of the Holy Cross (Worcester, Massachusetts), 1971) is an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, having served since 1991; since the retirement of Justice Anthony Kennedy, Thomas has been the senior-most Associate Justice on the Court. Justice Thomas is the second African American to serve on the n ...more

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“I could tell...that my friends were doing their best to get across the message that I wasn't Frankenstein's monster but a perfectly normal human being. What they didn't understand was that my opponents didn't care who I was. Even if they had wanted to know the truth about me, it would have made no sense to them, since I refused to stay in my place and play by their rules and was too complicated to fit into their simple-minded, stereotypical pigeonholes. In any case, I couldn't be defeated without first being caricatured and dehumanized...[T]hey couldn't allow my life to be seen as the story of an ordinary person who, like most people, had worked out his problems step by unsure step. That would have been too honest-and too human.” — 10 likes

“Merely because I was black, it seemed, I was supposed to listen to Hugh Maskela instead of Carole King, just as I was expected to be a radical, not a conservative. I no longer cared to play that game ... The black people I knew came from different places and backgrounds - social, economic, even ethnic - yet the color of our skin was somehow supposed to make us identical in spite of our differences. I didn't buy it. Of course we had all experienced racism in one way or another, but that did not mean we had to think alike” — 10 likes

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