Book #1: Five Chiefs

When he resigned in June 2010, Justice John Paul Stevens was the third-longest-serving Supreme Court justice in American history. As a lawyer and on the Court, he worked with five chief justices. Five Chiefs is his account of the workings of the Court from his personal experiences with these chief justices: as a law clerk during Vinson's tenure, a practicing lawyer when Warren was chief, a circuit judge and junior justice during Burger's term, a contemporary colleague of Rehnquist's, and a colleague of the current chief justice, John Roberts. -- excerpt from the inside cover

My opening disclaimer for this book absolutely must be, don't bother if you aren't interested in the Supreme Court! You've been warned. And, honestly, if you don't fit into that category, do yourself a favor and just skip this review, because it will probably bore you to tears.

That said, I really enjoyed this book. Not only because I fancy myself somewhat of a SCOTUS junkie, but because Justice Stevens is such a gentleman. I mean, look at him:

 A bowtie? Yes, sir.

This non-traditional take on a memoir was good for several reasons.

First, it's a non-traditional memoir. Instead of merely waxing nostalgic about his life and amazing legal brilliance (as you might expect a brilliant former Supreme Court justice to do), Stevens decided to explore the role of chief justice. Though that is a role he never filled personally, he knew five different chief justices personally, and has more than enough experience to write a book such as this. The memoir parts come in as he intersperses his many stories and anecdotes about the chiefs with experiences from his own life, so you do get to know him better.

Second, Stevens provides a unique and informative look at the history of the position we call 'chief justice,' as well as a brief summary of all of the chief justices this nation has had, including descriptions of the landmark cases decided during their respective tenures. I loved reading about all these men-- some of whom I admittedly knew nothing about-- and the cases. Yes, I'm a nerd. (Did you know former-President Taft served as chief justice? I didn't.)

Third, it is very candid. Stevens doesn't hold back. When he thinks a case was decided incorrectly, he wastes no time in telling you exactly how and why. He is also very honest in describing what he sees/saw as the strengths and weaknesses of the five chiefs he focuses on. He does all this while still maintaining dignity and grace in his writing. While I was at times surprised with his appraisal of certain people and events, I was nevertheless grateful for such an intimate look.

While I don't share most of Justice Stevens' opinions on legal issues, I can appreciate his intelligence and his values. I found myself chuckling a few times when he described the outcome of landmark cases that he agreed with-- perhaps even authored the opinion for-- but with which I wholeheartedly disagreed, and vice versa.

If I had to give one criticism of this book, it'd probably be that it errs on the side of randomness. There were several points when Stevens went to great length to describe memories, or something like a room or fixture of the Supreme Court building itself, that didn't seem to have much to do with anything. But, it is a memoir, so you've got to expect a certain amount of that, right? (And in the interest of full disclosure, I can't count that entirely as a con, because I liked reading those parts! Ever since visiting the Supreme Court, I just eat it up. All the anecdotes, all the random, trivial facts, lore, everything.)

As I said earlier, if you aren't interested in the Supreme Court, or have at least some interest in legal issues and the legal history of the United States, this book is not for you. You will probably not make it through the first few pages. But rest assured, that is not meant as a slight against anyone who doesn't want to read this book. It's definitely a book with a narrow audience, in my opinion. I probably even have some law school friends who would rather read anything else first. :)

I give this book 3 stars, with the above disclaimer. If this were a book on a topic of more general appeal, it'd be 4 stars.

Info:
Title: Five Chiefs: A Supreme Court Memoir
Author: John Paul Stevens
Published: 2011
248 pages, not including the Constitution, which is reprinted in the back