Overview

A Powerful Voice Brings Change to the Supreme Court In this second installment of James Rosen's masterful biography--hailed as ""monumental,"" ""ground-breaking,"" and ""definitive""--Antonin Scalia brings his intellectual genius, dazzling literary gifts, and captivating wit to the staid corridors of the Supreme Court. Championing originalism--the idea that the Constitution and statutes should be interpreted according to the original meaning these texts carried when they were enacted, without being expanded or twisted by activist judges--Scalia changed forever the way the law is crafted in Congress, argued before the bench, and adjudicated by our courts. The impact on American society was revolutionary. Drawing on his own correspondence and lunches with Scalia, original interviews with fellow justices, family members, priests, poker buddies, hunting companions, and critics, and a wealth of notes, letters, memoranda, draft opinions, and other previously unpublished documents, Rosen makes Scalia and the law come alive. We are in the room as the firebrand justice charms and confronts the towering figures of American law: William Rehnquist and Sandra Day O'Connor, Thurgood Marshall and Anthony Kennedy, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Clarence Thomas. ""I attack ideas, not people,"" Scalia said--but several colleagues at the Marble Temple, particularly those committed to a ""Living Constitution,"" bristled at the sting of his opinions. Supreme Court Years, 1986-2001 covers the first half of Scalia's Court tenure, climaxing in the national drama of Bush v. Gore, and Scalia the man: devout Catholic, loving husband, stern father, world traveler, hot-tempered subject of news reporting. It's a ride like no other.

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9781510786912

Table of Contents

Reviews

Praise for Scalia: Rise to Greatness, 1936 to 1986 ""Ranks among the finest biographies of a Supreme Court justice, or any judge, that I have ever read."" --Nadine Strossen, John Marshall Harlan II Professor of Law emerita and former president of the American Civil Liberties Union ""James Rosen's superb writing brings Nino Scalia to life ... a treasure of new material ... the definitive biography."" --Paul Krause, VoegelinView, arts and humanities journal of the Eric Voegelin Society ""Groundbreaking ... incredibly well researched ... highly recommended."" --Ed Martin, ""Pro America Report"" ""Groundbreaking and extensively researched"" --Ira Stoll, The New York Sun ""Magnificent ... a perfect example of the right author meeting the perfect subject. Rosen is a veteran reporter who does meticulous research, writes beautifully, and has respect and understanding for conservative ideas.... The result is a work that engages the mind and soul even as it illuminates its subject...a first-rate biography of a great man."" --Mark Judge, Washington Examiner ""An amazing work of research ... riveting."" --Vince Coglianese, The Daily Caller and WMAL radio ""Monumental and definitive."" --Eric Metaxas, author of Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy and host, ""The Eric Metaxas Radio Show"" ""Captures Scalia's brilliance and magnetism. Mr. Rosen's stylish prose carries the reader.... By the end, one has a keener appreciation of a period in Scalia's life that earlier biographers have played down or misunderstood.... As Mr. Rosen tells the story, one can't help feeling inspired ... a great read about an American hero."" --Matthew Continetti, ""'Scalia' Review: Constitutional Caretaker,"" Wall Street Journal ""Really well researched, beautifully written.... My father is featured prominently, and I learned things about his friendship with Nino I didn't know."" --Robert Bork, Jr. ""Rich and rewarding."" --Scot Bertram, General Manager and Host, Radio Hillsdale ""Fascinating ... rollicking good fun.... I'm never surprised by how terrific a writer James Rosen is, but his productivity on many levels is astonishing.... Scalia: Rise To Greatness: 1936-1986 is not just a grand read.... Rosen has set a new standard for readability and research on a justice."" --Hugh Hewitt, host, ""The Hugh Hewitt Show"" and Washington Post columnist ""Very fine ... Rosen's research is exhaustive and meticulously documented.... He has watched every video, listened to every audio recording ... read every transcript ... and collected lots of anecdotes."" --Ed Whelan, Antonin Scalia Chair in Constitutional Studies, Ethics and Public Policy Center, LawLiberty ""Masterly ... reads like a novel."" --Georgene Rice, ""The Georgene Rice Show,"" KPDQ ""Charming ... well-told ... brings out Scalia's full humanity.... What emerges is a wonderful family man, a loving husband and father, and a faithful Catholic."" --Austin Ruse, ""The Rise and Rise of Antonin Scalia,"" Catholic World Report ""Stirring ... illuminating ... engaging.... James Rosen puts his investigative skills to a rewarding end...He describes the justice's origins with warmth, captures his wit and wisdom, fills in key stages on his path to the Court, and conveys new insights and stories along the way.... What stood out to me when I clerked for Justice Scalia, what comes through in page after page of Rosen's biography, was the unshakeable sense of what he stood for--and an unforgettable presence that came with it."" --Judge Jeffrey Sutton, chief judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, National Review ""Remarkable.... Readers come to learn not just the origins of Scalia's originalism but how the man the world would come to know as Nino came to be."" --Lee Habeeb, Newsweek ""A monumental work ... incredibly detailed."" --Ron Kessler, former Washington Post reporter and author, The Secrets of the FBI ""Energetic ... vibrant ... meticulous research.... Echoes of Scalia's wit and humor, amplified by Rosen's storytelling and ability to draw out the significance of key influences, put the reader right in the room as Scalia advances."" --Katelynn Richardson, Daily Caller ""Marvelous ... lyrical ... a biography of nuance and ballast ... so vivid and timely that the reader feels right from the start as if he has joined a journey or pilgrimage.... Rosen writes with a brio and crackling energy that is almost tangible, and his personal style carries you along.... Rosen rightly places the late justice's Christianity at the center of what unfolds layer by layer ... evoking that faith in a manner subtle, supple, and nimble in a way rarely achieved in biographies about famous Americans ... the best kind of biographical history ... earning the late Justice Scalia his perfect biographer."" --Tim Goeglein, Daily Citizen/Focus on the Family ""An insider account ... fills in gaps left by Scalia's earlier, less ideologically admiring biographers."" --Francis P. Sempa, The American Spectator ""[A] fine study ... adding a multitude of details.... Throughout Rosen's book, we are struck again and again by the joy [Scalia] found in life and in others."" --Jeff Minick, The Epoch Times ""Rich and well rounded.... As Rosen details Scalia's life and work experience, one begins to appreciate the roots of some of the justice's strongly held opinions."" --Trey Dimsdale, Acton Institute ""Inspiring ... gives significant weight to the interplay between [Scalia's] faith and legal vocation.... Rosen also documents the strong moral character that inspired and guided his courageous, often lonely efforts to articulate an 'originalist' jurisprudence."" --Joan Frawley Desmond, National Catholic Register ""A brilliant biography of a signal figure ... astonishingly thorough ... a magnificent evocation of the past, present, and future of American constitutional law ... full of new, interesting details ... Rosen's research is awe-inspiring.... Rosen thoroughly describes and documents the formative decades Scalia's prior biographers largely glossed over.... Poignant.... Spectacular.... [Rosen's] key contribution is not in explaining his judicial doctrines, but in illuminating his judicial character."" --Adam J. White, Commentary Magazine ""Lively and thorough ... Rosen takes us behind the scenes ... refreshing and uplifting."" --Jeff Minick, Smoky Mountain News ""Draw[s] on dozens of interviews and rich primary source research, much of it previously unpublished.... Through lively and detailed prose, punctuated by extensive dialogue, transcripts and personal recollections, he explores the first half-century of Scalia's life.... Rosen writes with verve and passion ... paints a deeply human picture.... Readers of all political stripes will find in this book an intriguing dissection of the conservative legal mind and the world in which it incubated.... Rosen offers a compelling window into the world we now live in."" --Benjamin C. Waterhouse, Washington Post ""Thorough research and sparkling prose.... Scalia gets the biography he deserves."" --Stephen B. Presser, Northwestern Pritzker School of Law, Chronicles Magazine ""Rosen presents so many tantalizing details ... unearths loads of never-before-reported information...Comprehensively reported and filled with stylistic flourishes of the sort its subject would have appreciated, Rise to Greatness is the definitive work on Scalia's early years.... I can't wait for Scalia: Supreme Court Years, 1986-2016."" --Ilya Shapiro, Manhattan Institute, Claremont Review of Books, Fall 2023 issue

Author Information

One of America's leading reporters, James Rosen is chief Washington correspondent at Newsmax, where his sharp questioning of Presidents Biden and Trump made global headlines. Previously he covered the White House and State Department for Fox News for nearly two decades. In the Obama era, Rosen's exclusive reporting led the FBI to place him and his family under illegal surveillance--the disclosure of which made national news, triggering investigations and reforms. Rosen's articles have appeared in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, POLITICO, The Atlantic, and National Review, among other periodicals. Previous books include The Strong Man: John Mitchell and the Secrets of Watergate; Cheney One on One; A Torch Kept Lit: Great Lives of the Twentieth Century, a bestselling anthology of the writing of William F. Buckley, Jr. that Rosen edited; and Scalia: Rise to Greatness, 1936-1986. Rosen is married with two sons.

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