Scalia - by James Rosen (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

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hunting companions, and critics, and a wealth of notes, letters, memoranda, draft opinions, and other previously unpublished documents, Rosen makes Scalia and the law come alive.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.

Review Quotes

"Lively and detailed...Rosen writes with verve and passion...paints a deeply human picture...drawing on dozens of interviews and rich primary source research, much of it previously unpublished."

--Benjamin C. Waterhouse, Washington Post

"Rosen's stylish prose carries the reader...captures Scalia's brilliance and magnetism...a great read about an American hero."

--Matthew Continetti, Wall Street Journal

"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

"Monumental and definitive."

--Eric Metaxas, author of Bonhoeffer and host, "The Eric Metaxas Radio Show"

"Energetic...vibrant...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

"Terrific...rollicking good fun...Rosen has set a new standard for readability and research on a justice."

--Hugh Hewitt, Salem Radio Network

"Inspiring...gives significant weight to the interplay between [Scalia's] faith and legal vocation."

--Joan Frawley Desmond, National Catholic Register

"Brilliant...poignant...spectacular...astonishingly thorough...Rosen's research is awe-inspiring....[His] key contribution is not in explaining his judicial doctrines, but in illuminating his judicial character."

--Adam J. White, Commentary

"Marvelous...lyrical...Rosen writes with a brio and crackling energy that...places the late justice's Christianity at the center...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."

--Tim Goeglein, Daily Citizen/Focus on the Family

"What comes through in page after page of Rosen's biography was the unshakeable sense of what [Scalia] stood for."

--Judge Jeffrey Sutton, former Scalia clerk and Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, in National Review

"James Rosen's superb writing brings Nino Scalia to life...a treasure of new material...the definitive biography."

--Paul Krause, VoegelinView

"Groundbreaking...incredibly well researched...highly recommended."

--Ed Martin, "Pro America Report"

"Groundbreaking and extensively researched"

--Ira Stoll, 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

"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."

--Ilya Shapiro, Claremont Review of Books

"An amazing work of research...riveting."

--Vince Coglianese, Daily Caller/WMAL Radio

"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

"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

"Lively...comprehensive...aided by access to much of the justice's previously unseen writings."

--The New Criterion

"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, Catholic World Report

"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, author, The Secrets of the FBI

"An insider account...fills in gaps left by Scalia's earlier, less ideologically admiring biographers."

--Francis P. Sempa, The American Spectator

"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

"Lively and thorough...Rosen takes us behind the scenes...refreshing and uplifting."

--Jeff Minick, Smoky Mountain News

"Thorough research and sparkling prose...Scalia gets the biography he deserves."

--Stephen B. Presser, Northwestern Pritzker School of Law, Chronicles Magazine

About the Author

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.