With the Kavanaugh vote looming and contretemps raging, while you are in a frame of mind to consider the centrality of the third branch of government, may we suggest you purchase an advance copy of NR senior editor Richard Brookhiser’s new book, John Marshall: The Man Who Made the Supreme Court. (Its formal publication date is November 6).


Our friend and colleague is a renowned historian — his works include best-selling biographies of Lincoln, Madison, Gouverneur Morris, Hamilton, Washington, and the Adamses. In his new and quite timely book, Rick brings new and deserved attention to the genial and brilliant Revolutionary War veteran who became the long-serving chief justice of the United States, and who, during his 34-year tenure at the Supreme Court, turned the federal government’s weakling third branch into a formidable co-equal.

John Marshall: The Man Who Made the Supreme Court offers a definitive look at the Constitution champion’s legacy through his abundant personal skills (his wit and charm often united his fellow justices) and through his landmark decisions — often-colorful cases involving businessmen, scoundrels, Native Americans, slaves, and unruly states — which established the Supreme Court’s right to rebuke Congress or the president, unleashed the power of American commerce, and made the Supreme Court a central part of American life.

This is a beautifully written and deeply entertaining book, a definitive biography of America’s greatest judge, its most important early chief justice, and in the history of the nation, one of its most profoundly important citizens. Order your copy of Rick Brookhiser’s John Marshall: The Man Who Made the Supreme Court, which you can find on Amazon, here.