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Five Chiefs
- A Supreme Court Memoir
- Narrated by: Gregory Itzin
- Length: 8 hrs and 5 mins
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Publisher's summary
In Five Chiefs, Justice Stevens captures the inner workings of the Supreme Court via his personal experiences with the five Chief Justices - Fred Vinson, Earl Warren, Warren Burger, William Rehnquist, and John Roberts - that he interacted with. He reminisces of being a law clerk during Vinson's tenure; a practicing lawyer for Warren; a circuit judge and junior justice for Burger; a contemporary colleague of Rehnquist; and a colleague of current Chief Justice John Roberts. Along the way, he will discuss his views of some the most significant cases that have been decided by the Court from Vinson, who became Chief Justice in 1946 when Truman was President, to Roberts, who became Chief Justice in 2005.
Packed with interesting anecdotes and stories about the Court, Five Chiefs is an unprecedented and historically significant look at the highest court in the United States.
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Want to make sense of the US Constitution? This new edition walks you through this revered document, explaining how the articles and amendments came to be and how they have guided legislators, judges, and presidents - and sparked ongoing debates along the way. You'll get the lowdown on all the big issues - from separation of church and state to impeachment to civil rights - that continue to affect Americans' daily lives. Plus, you'll find out about the different approaches to interpretation and how the document has changed over the past 200+ years.
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Much better than I anticipated.
- By JoEllen LeVitre on 08-30-20
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What Kind of Nation
- Thomas Jefferson, John Marshall, and the Epic Struggle to Create a United States
- By: James F. Simon
- Narrated by: Patrick Cullen
- Length: 12 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
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In this dramatic and fully accessible account of these titans of the early republic and their fiercely held ideas, James F. Simon brings to life the early history of the nation and sheds new light on the highly charged battle to balance the powers of the federal government and the rights of the states. A fascinating look at two of the nation's greatest statesmen and shrewdest politicians, What Kind of Nation presents a cogent, unbiased assessment of their lasting impact on American government.
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Interesting but a bit too biased for me
- By Diana Black Kennedy on 03-01-18
By: James F. Simon
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The Great Decision
- Jefferson, Adams, Marshall and the Battle for the Supreme Court
- By: Cliff Sloan, David McKean
- Narrated by: Peter Jay Fernandez
- Length: 7 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
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The Great Decision tells the riveting story of Marshall and of the landmark court case, Marbury v. Madison, through which he empowered the Supreme Court and transformed the idea of the separation of powers into a working blueprint for our modern state.
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John Marshall & The Supremes
- By Cynthia on 08-13-13
By: Cliff Sloan, and others
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The Supremes' Greatest Hits, 2nd Revised & Updated Edition
- The 44 Supreme Court Cases That Most Directly Affect Your Life
- By: Michael G. Trachtman
- Narrated by: Jonathan Yen
- Length: 7 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
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The Supreme Court's rulings have shaped American life and justice and allowed Americans to retain basic freedoms such as privacy, free speech, and the right to a fair trial. This revised and updated edition of Michael G. Trachtman's riveting work includes 10 important cases from 2010 to 2015.
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Nice review overall.
- By "freeindeed4ever" on 02-10-20
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Eisenhower vs. Warren
- The Battle for Civil Rights and Liberties
- By: James F. Simon
- Narrated by: Jonathan Yen
- Length: 15 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
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In Eisenhower vs. Warren, two-time New York Times Notable Book author James F. Simon examines the years of strife between them that led Eisenhower to say that his biggest mistake as president was appointing that "dumb son of a bitch Earl Warren." This momentous, poisonous relationship is presented here at last in one volume. Compellingly written, Eisenhower vs. Warren brings to vivid life the clash that continues to reverberate in political and constitutional debates today.
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A Great Review of the Fight for Civil Rights
- By Jean on 07-01-19
By: James F. Simon
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Broken Government
- How Republican Rule Destroyed the Legislative, Executive, and Judicial Branches
- By: John W. Dean
- Narrated by: Paul Michael
- Length: 10 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
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In his eighth book, Dean takes the broadest and deepest view yet of the dysfunctional chaos and institutional damage that the Republican Party and its core conservatives have inflicted on the federal government. He assesses the state of all three branches of government, tracing their decline through the presidencies of Nixon, Ford, Reagan, Bush I, and Bush II.
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Attention Policy Wonks - This is the book for you
- By Neal on 09-19-09
By: John W. Dean
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The Case Against the Democratic House Impeaching Trump
- By: Alan Dershowitz
- Narrated by: Jim Seybert
- Length: 9 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
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In the 2018 best seller The Case Against Impeaching Trump, Alan Dershowitz lamented how American political discourse has devolved into hypocrisy and the criminalization of political differences. Arguments to impeach Trump failed Dershowitz’s “shoe on the other foot test”, or his political golden rule: Democrats must do unto Republicans what they would have Republicans do unto them, and vice versa. Since then, we’ve only become more divided. The Case Against the Democratic House Impeaching Trump includes and expands upon Dershowitz’s 2018 book.
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Excellent
- By Amazon Customer on 06-01-19
By: Alan Dershowitz
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Our Lost Constitution
- The Willful Subversion of America's Founding Document
- By: Mike Lee
- Narrated by: Mike Lee, Tom Parks
- Length: 6 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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Senator Mike Lee tells the dramatic, little-known stories behind six of the Constitution's most indispensable provisions. He shows their rise. He shows their fall. And he makes vividly clear how nearly every abuse of federal power today is rooted in neglect of this Lost Constitution.
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Solution is a bit naive
- By Will on 08-07-16
By: Mike Lee
What listeners say about Five Chiefs
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- mr kieran j murphy
- 12-21-11
missing something
While I found the book interesting there seemed to be a glossing over of the areas I thought would be the main basis of the book. for example the roe v wade decision is only spoken of briefly after discussion of how the coffee breaks were really good.
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- Alise Moss Vetica
- 07-03-12
GOOD ORAL HISTORY OF THE CHIEF JUSTICES
If you could sum up Five Chiefs in three words, what would they be?
Informative, Educational, Interesting
What other book might you compare Five Chiefs to and why?
The Nine by Jeffery Tobin because it too is a perspective on judicial history.
Which character – as performed by Gregory Itzin – was your favorite?
Justice John Paul Stevens
Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?
No. This book is not a novel, it is an historical presentation of the Chiefs and their presiding over judicial decisions. Therefore, I felt listening sometimes required an occasional break because it consisted of legal decisions and history (dates, times).
Any additional comments?
Enjoyed the book and learned new and interesting things about the supreme court justices.
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2 people found this helpful
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- jorgio
- 11-02-16
Chapters
The chapter numbers were not accurately portayed in the audiobook table of contents. Otherwise an interesting book.
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- Amazon Customer
- 11-22-11
5 chiefs from an interesting perspective
A bit text-bookish but interesting background on the various chiefs as well as some of the workings of the court.
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- Anne
- 01-29-12
Having loved "The Nine" . . . !
Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?
This book seemed written for other attorneys, somewhat
What did you like best about this story?
I liked parts of it in which Stephens discussed the justices personalities and characters and the relation to their decisions. I also enjoyed hearing about the day-to-day process of the court.
Which character – as performed by Gregory Itzin – was your favorite?
Not that kind of book.
Could you see Five Chiefs being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?
Not that kind of book.
Any additional comments?
I imagine attorneys and individuals who work closely with the justice system would find this very interesting. As a
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- Tp
- 06-05-16
Too much "you should've done it my way."
What did you like best about Five Chiefs? What did you like least?
Anecdotes about the inner workings of the court and its insular membership are always enlightening. The book has a disappointing "what a good man was I" tone. Still, Justice Stevens place in history is safe. The narrator was a bright spot. He probably did not attempt to mimic the Justice, but the timber of his voice was pleasantly familiar and appropriate. It was almost as Stevens might have read it aloud himself.
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- Michael
- 03-08-12
Half Biography, Half Memoir
"Five Chiefs" is an excellent book, though it often strays from the story it is trying to tell. The author begins by saying that his purpose is to tell a story about the Five Chief Justices he had the opportunity to know from the time he was a law clerk to his retirement from the countries highest Federal Court. While there are indeed many interesting stories and anecdotes about these five men, the chronology is often interrupted by Justice Stevens' appraisal of their legal philosophies. Particularly when it comes to Burger, Reinquist, and Roberts, Justice Stevens begins by telling us how they were as managers of the Court, and then proceeds to tell us how he disagrees with a number of cases they authored. While this is certainly interesting, it strays from the purpose of the book. Though I suppose when you've spent nearly half a century serving your country, you are entitled to take liberties as an author, and I think most readers will gladly forgive these tangents. :)
A few words of warning:
(1) This book is filled with legalese. While the author does a good job of explaining his legal discussion, it might be harder to follow for someone who doesn't have a legal education. If you ARE a lawyer by trade, then his discussions of constitutional law will be pretty straight forward and understandable.
(2) If you fall into the Scalia/Thomas camp of Constitutional law, you will not agree with the author on most issues. In fact, in this book he is often critical of the conservative block on the court. If this criticism will make you angry or motivate you to write a negative review for political reasons, you should avoid this book and select something more in line with your political views.
Overall: This book succeeds in the goal of providing a perspective on the five most recent chief justices of the US Supreme Court. While it is obviously not a biography of those individuals, it certainly serves as a valuable perspective on those individuals, as well as some of the other justices on the court. This is why I say it is only half a biography of those individuals. The other half is a memoir of Justice Stevens' own views and disagreements with the chiefs and other member of the Court. I hope that we will hear from Mr. Justice Stevens again in a full memoir, but until then, this book will certainly wet the appetites of lawyers and citizens alike.
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8 people found this helpful