The Nine

Inside the Secret World of the Supreme Court

By: Jeffrey Toobin

Narrated by: Don Leslie

Length: 15 hrs and 50 mins

Publisher's summary

Best-selling author Jeffrey Toobin takes you into the chambers of the Supreme Court and reveals the complex dynamic among the nine people who decide the law of the land. Just in time for the 2008 presidential election - where the future of the Court will be at stake - Toobin reveals an institution at a moment of transition, when decades of conservative disgust with the Court have finally produced a conservative majority, with major changes in store on such issues as abortion, civil rights, presidential power, and church-state relations.

Based on exclusive interviews with the justices themselves, The Nine tells the story of the Court through personalities - from Anthony Kennedy’s overwhelming sense of self-importance to Clarence Thomas’s well-tended grievances against his critics to David Souter’s odd 19th century lifestyle. There is also, for the first time, the full behind-the-scenes story of Bush v. Gore - and Sandra Day O’Connor’s fateful breach with George W. Bush, the president she helped place in office.

The Nine is the book Toobin was born to write. He is a best-selling author, a CNN senior legal analyst, and New Yorker staff writer. No one is more superbly qualified to profile the nine justices.

©2007 Jeffrey Toobin (P)2007 Books on Tape

Critic reviews

"A major achievement, lucid and probing." (Bob Woodward)

"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)

"Absorbing....[Toobin's] savvy account puts the supposedly cloistered Court right in the thick of American life." (Publishers Weekly)

Well Researched and Captivating

This is a well researched and captivating read. Mr. Tobin really pulled together a host of information about the individual justices, their relationships with each other, key historical rulings, and the feeder system that allowed them to happen. The language is easy for the layperson to understand, and provides a host of insight into the political workings of the Bush administration. Ought to be required reading for political science majors, or those interested in politics!

Fascinating, clear, informative

A gripping tale, told pretty straight forward, whatever your point of view.
This is about such an important change in our democratic government, it is inspiring to read.
And I like the reader, very even tempered.

Great!!

A very, well-written, informative look into the way the Supreme Court works, as well as a great description of the Supreme Court Justices.
The narrator helped make it very interesting, and easy to listen to.

Pulp Jurisdiction

The Nine is written as a travelogue of the recent to not so recent history of this esteemed panel. It has many interesting facts and anecdotes concerning an 'inside baseball' perspective of the court. The average listener to this type of book however is probably more interested in a more academic approach to the subject. It is not that this title is not enjoyable, much to the contrary, I was quite engaged all the way through...It's just that when I got to the end I wasn't sure that I understood the court any better than I had before listening. What I was hoping for was how the cases were presented to the Justices and how they interpreted the Constitution in their findings. Fortunately Audible has actual Supreme Court hearings downloadable for free...This I found more informative, if a bit less entertaining.

a must read

An excellent and scary view of what has happened to the courts of this country, most especially the supreme court in the past several years under the current administration. We should all be concerned for our future and the future of our children and grandchildren as our rights and freedoms continue to diminish and even taken away by fear tactics and puritanical views being forced upon us all. Toobin does and excellent job of showing us the ultimate force the supreme court holds in this country.

Absolutely Excellent Assessment of Modern History

This is not fiction, by any stretch of the imagination. It is straight-forward fact and observation. While a fair and through assessment, it also offers some relevant character study, which is cleverly done and sets the scenes for appointment to this elite body. It has some elements of what sounds like a novel, but after some research on my part, it is appears that there is no exaggeration. The humanity, humor, strongly held beliefs of the Chief Justices and how they influence other members of the court is particularly interesting. Above all, while this review is probably dull, the book is not! It is a learning experience, even for the already learned and should be required reading for anyone interested in the law.

Would love a sequel

This is an excellent examination of the substance of the Supreme Court’s work and the interaction among the Supreme Court justices for the period ending in 2009. It would be interesting to see the authors view of the years of the Supreme Court ending today.
The book deals with a specific period of time on the court and therefore deals with specific personalities, yet it is still very illuminating on the manner in which the Supreme Court does functions and the influence of various justices of differing ideologies. Most interesting was the examination of the effect of Justice O’Connor on the work of the court during her tenure. She was, perhaps, the most influential member of the court in reaching its most significant decisions.

Interesting Non-Fiction

Our local library series finished the season with Mr. Toobin and the program was wonderfully entertaining (full of humor and history). I had started reading this book just before he came to speak and was eager to finish it as a result.

The narration is very appropriate. Cliche words are occasionally overused in the writing style. Regardless, any reader should learn much by reading this book.

The story not only describes the justices and the process of their appointments, but also various cases of significance. It is enlightening to know the thoughts of this group of people and how their decisions evolved.

This is well worth the tme and effort to read.

Informative and believable

This is a precisely written informative book of the justices placement and positions on the court

It's Time for a Sequel

Well written and constructed. This is the second time through this book for me, and I enjoyed listening this time. I wish Toobin would write a sequel following the court to the present