
The Chief
The Life and Turbulent Times of Chief Justice John Roberts
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Narrated by:
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Jennywren Walker
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By:
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Joan Biskupic
About this listen
An incisive biography of the Supreme Court's enigmatic chief justice, taking us inside the momentous legal decisions of his tenure so far.
John Roberts was named to the Supreme Court in 2005 claiming he would act as a neutral umpire in deciding cases. His critics argue he has been anything but, pointing to his conservative victories on voting rights and campaign finance. Yet he broke from orthodoxy in his decision to preserve Obamacare. How are we to understand the motives of the most powerful judge in the land?
In The Chief, award-winning journalist Joan Biskupic contends that Roberts is torn between two often divergent priorities: to carry out a conservative agenda and to protect the Court's image and his place in history. Biskupic shows how Roberts' dual commitments have fostered distrust among his colleagues, with major consequences for the law. Trenchant and authoritative, The Chief reveals the making of a justice and the drama on this nation's highest court.
©2019 Joan Biskupic (P)2019 Hachette AudioListeners also enjoyed...
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Critic reviews
"Assiduously reported and briskly written...[Biskupic] suggests that [Roberts] is pulled by two often-conflicting instincts. One is ideological: a desire to move the court rightward on race, religion and other issues. The other is institutional: an interest in the court being respected and seen as nonpolitical."—New York Times Book Review
What listeners say about The Chief
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- Michael W Young
- 08-07-20
Biased and embarrassing
The background drama details on big cases are interesting, but the author too often editorializes in ways that are embarrassing to actual lawyers who know the details of the opinions. It sounds like the author had someone else write the summaries of a case and then threw it its own thoughts at the end. Also the narrator is too monotone and mispronounces “Posner”.
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- Ted Lapis
- 04-19-19
Chief Justice John Roberts Undercover
Critical rulings in race, wages, and religion have unveiled the Roberts Court as biased by design, despite some efforts to dissemble, and confuse. Despite protestations to the contrary, Roberts is using his power to steer the US Supreme Court hard right.
Wages for workers are merely collateral damage, when important freedoms for management are at stake. The most troubling aspects of the Roberts Court are predictable, based upon his biases by his racial & Catholic beliefs.
This umpire has a deep desire to win, not just “call balls and strikes.” His robes cloak a massive ego, given to repression of racial issues, and justifying his Catholic hierarchical instincts. In our world shifted by neuroscience powered by “Thinking Fast and Slow,” Roberts’ deference to elite control, will spell misery for millions of the working poor.
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- Kevin Farrell
- 04-12-19
Excellent in every way!
This is great read/listen. It explains a lot of the MESS the USA is in.
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- Mike Sinks
- 05-28-19
Decent Book, but a Little Early
The book certainly is timely, but I tend to agree with Roberts in the epilogue that now might not be the best time to write it. It seems to be a relatively fair recounting of events without offering much in the way of actual analysis. The right will hate it and decry it as a political hack job, and the left won't think it goes far enough.
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- Jon
- 01-03-21
story was overly politicized.
Good background, but the author clearly leads far left and makes their disagreement known. I was disappointed they didn't remain neutral.
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1 person found this helpful
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- EW
- 05-17-19
Interesting Read
An interesting and thorough biography. However, I felt the book was a bit repetitive in places and also jumped around chronologically at times. It was otherwise an easy read.
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- Reader
- 08-26-19
Distracting mispronunciations
Many basic legal terms and the names of famous judges were mispronounced to a distracting level.
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- William M.
- 04-08-19
Worthwhile pursuit
For a non lawyer, this work opens the workings of the law and those charged with interpretation of the law. What comes across to me is the sometimes blatant disregard for the individual hurt placed on innocent, disadvantaged citizens, for the sake of rigid interpretations of the constitution.
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2 people found this helpful
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- John K Hamlet
- 08-01-19
Flat
I just found this book to be alittle dull. There wasn't enough of a compelling story to keep me engaged.
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- Kevin M. Burns
- 04-17-19
Put me to sleep
I had a difficult time listening to this woman’s voice. A friend heard the narrator speaking and said, “Boring voice!’
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4 people found this helpful