The Oath: The Obama White House and The Supreme Court

Upheaval. Jeffrey Toobin’s book, The Oath: The Obama White House and the Supreme Court, came out last September at a perfect time: after the health care ruling and before the presidential election. Geared to a general audience, the book presents a viewpoint about each justice and what the court did in their deliberations and rulings during the first Obama term, as well as how the court has changed with new members and under Roberts’ leadership. Toobin was a classmate of Elena Kagan at Harvard Law, and I’ve enjoyed his writing for The New Yorker, as well as his earlier book on the court, The Nine. His viewpoint stresses the many ways in which the Roberts court has been an activist one, making big changes rather than incremental ones, sometimes setting aside decades of precedent. Political junkies and court watchers may consider this as required reading. General readers will gain a perspective on the Supreme Court and its importance from this book, whether one agrees or disagrees with Toobin’s viewpoint. Rating: Four-star (I like it) Click here to purchase The Oath from amazon.com.