Justice Brennan

"Will likely be the definitive biography. . . . a detailed and fascinating account of how the Supreme Court functioned during Brennan's long tenure." —Publishers Weekly (starred review) 


This is a compelling inside look at the life of William Brennan, a champion of free speech who is widely considered the most influential Supreme Court justice of the twentieth century. Before his death, Brennan granted Stephen Wermiel access to volumes of personal and court materials that at the time were sealed to the public for another two decades. This "coveted set of documents," as Jeffrey Toobin described it, includes Brennan's case histories—in which he recorded strategies behind major battles including Roe v. Wade, affirmative action, the death penalty, obscenity law, and the constitutional right to privacy—as well as more personal documents that reveal some of Brennan's curious contradictions, like his refusal to hire female clerks even as he wrote groundbreaking women's rights decisions; his complex stance as a justice and a Catholic; and details on Brennan's unprecedented working relationship with Chief Justice Earl Warren. In this biography, Wermiel and Seth Stern distill decades of valuable information into a seamless, riveting portrait of the man behind the Court's most liberal era.


"The most comprehensive and well-organized look at the legendary liberal jurist to date." —The New York Times

"Seats the reader in Brennan's chambers to listen to his conversations and see the memoranda exchanged with other justices and his law clerks." —Newark Star Ledger

"The authors balance differing accounts of Brennan the jurist and the man, presenting an evenhanded portrait of the affable but stubborn Justice." —Kirkus Reviews