Packing the Court: The Rise of Judicial Power and the Coming Crisis of the Supreme Court - Softcover

Burns, James Macgregor

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0143117416 ISBN 13: 9780143117414

Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group, 2010

Synopsis

From renowned political theorist James MacGregor Burns, an incisive critique of the overreaching power of an ideological Supreme Court

For decades, Pulitzer Prize-winner James MacGregor Burns has been one of the great masters of the study of power and leadership in America. In Packing the Court, he turns his eye to the U.S. Supreme Court, an institution that he believes has become more powerful, and more partisan, than the founding fathers ever intended. In a compelling and provocative narrative, Burns reveals how the Supreme Court has served as a reactionary force in American politics at critical moments throughout the nation's history, and concludes with a bold proposal to rein in the court's power.

About this title

About the Author:

James MacGregor Burns is the Woodrow Wilson Professor of Government Emeritus at Williams College and Distinguished Leadership Scholar at the James MacGregor Burns Academy of Leadership at the University of Maryland. He is the author of more than two dozen books, including Roosevelt: Soldier of Freedom, which won both the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award, and Leadership, which is considered a seminal work in the field of leadership studies.

From AudioFile:

Most U.S. citizens of the 21st century take for granted that the Supreme Court will decide the most divisive issues of our day--but this is not what the Constitution's framers had in mind when they wrote that document. The author's argument is that the Court has become too partisan and has misused it power to overturn state and national legislation. Narrator Norman Dietz has a deep, assured voice that lends authority and gravitas to the book. His tone and pacing make it easy to follow the constitutional arguments, and he pauses at crucial intervals to allow listeners to consider Burns's ideas. At times, he sounds like a professor at the lectern, but he's an interesting professor who demands our attention. R.I.G. © AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine

About this edition

• Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
• Publication date: 2010
• ISBN 10: 0143117416
• ISBN 13: 9780143117414
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 336