The Nine - by Jeffrey Toobin (Paperback)

About the Book

This "New York Times" Best Book of the Year takes readers into the chambers of the most important--and secret--legal body in the country, the Supreme Court, and reveals the complex dynamic among the nine people who decide the law of the land.

Book Synopsis

Acclaimed journalist Jeffrey Toobin takes us into the chambers of the most important--and secret--legal body in our country, the Supreme Court, revealing the complex dynamic among the nine people who decide the law of the land. An institution at a moment of transition, the Court now stands at a crucial point, with major changes in store on such issues as abortion, civil rights, and church-state relations. Based on exclusive interviews with the justices and with a keen sense of the Court's history and the trajectory of its future, Jeffrey Toobin creates in The Nine a riveting story of one of the most important forces in American life today.

Review Quotes

"Compelling. . . . Driven by the author's assured narrative voice, The Nine is as informative as it is fascinating, as insightful as it is readable." --Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times"Smart and entertaining. . . . The Nine is engaging, erudite, candid, and accessible, often hard to put down. Toobin is a natural storyteller, and the stories he tells are gripping."--The New York Times Book Review"Toobin's sparkling new work is anecdotally rich and clearly written. . . . A testimony to [his] skill." --USA Today"Intelligent and even-handed. . . . Toobin's access to the Supremes and their secret little world is phenomenal."--Chicago Sun-Times"The Nine not only provides a vivid narrative history of the Court's recent history, but also gives the reader an intimate look at individual justices, showing how personality, judicial philosophy and personal alliances can inform decisions that have huge consequences for the entire country. . . . Driven by the author's assured narrative voice, The Nine is as informative as it is fascinating, as insightful as it is readable."--Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times"Every decade or so, an enterprising and intelligent outsider like Toobin can come along and shine a muchneeded spotlight on the place. . . . The Nine is engaging, erudite, candid and accessible, often hard to put down. Toobin is a natural storyteller, and the stories he tells are gripping. . . . [He] writes about the court more fluidly and fluently than anyone."--David Margolick, The New York Times Book Review"The Nine is the latest, and by far the best [book] . . . about the Supreme Court." --Nina Totenberg, NPR"This is a remarkable, riveting book. So great are Toobin's narrative skills that both the justices and their inner world are brought vividly to life."--Doris Kearns Goodwin"[An] absorbing group profile. . . . [Toobin] deftly distills the issues and enlivens his narrative of the Court's internal wranglings with sharp thumbnail sketches"--Publishers Weekly"A compelling look at the power and the politics behind the Supreme Court." --Booklist"A major achievement, lucid and probing."--Bob Woodward

About the Author

Jeffrey Toobin is a staff writer at The New Yorker, senior legal analyst at CNN, and the authors of such best-sellers as Too Close to Call: The Thirty-Six Day Battle to Decide the 2000 Election, A Vast Conspiracy: The Real Story of the Sex Scandal that Nearly Brought Down a President, and The Run of His Life: The People v. O.J. Simpson.