The Brethren

Inside the Supreme Court

By: Bob Woodward, Scott Armstrong

Narrated by: Holter Graham

The Brethren is the first detailed behind-the-scenes account of the Supreme Court in action.

Bob Woodward and Scott Armstrong have pierced its secrecy to give us an unprecedented view of the Chief and Associate Justices - maneuvering, arguing, politicking, compromising, and making decisions that affect every major area of American life.

©1979 Bob Woodward and Scott Armstrong. All rights reserved. (P)2019 Simon & Schuster, Inc. All rights reserved.

Fascinating review of the court’s past and issues facing us today

I thoroughly enjoyed hearing stories of the court’s past, as it was eye-opening to learn more about how the Supreme Court worked and how decisions impacting us today were decided. This was a pivotal time for the judiciary and I searched for a book to teach me what happened, while being entertaining, too. This one did the trick! Well researched and insightful. Long, but entertaining and thought-provoking throughout. Highly recommend.

good book but about history

it's a little bit of a critique that mostly makes you think less of the supreme court justices.. good in a way, they are human, but bad on that they make some seem dont and unqualified which brings into doubt the legitimacy of decisions. the current court is only worse, so I do wonder what would be writen now.

Took many field of mowing to get thru

I enjoyed the perspective on history. Just goes to how little the highest upper ring really bring to the table

Awful voiceover

Great book but terrible voiceover - this is legal drama, just give us the information. The narrator tries to do voices for dialogue and adds too much unneeded emphasis and even sarcasm. Just read the text, that’s what any listener of this would want. Disappointing.

Amazing

It's history, so it's not exactly like a legal thriller. But to get inside the mind of so many important Supreme Court decisions is nothing short of amazing.

I lived through this time period - school busing, the Roe v. Wade decision, the Nixon tapes and the legalization of pornography of free speech. From the outside, these are some of the most mind-boggling decisions of my lifetime. Thanks to Woodward, there's at least an understanding of how the decisions came to be made.

This is a great way to understand how the court works, and how Presidential appointments make such a profound difference.

Eye Opening but Tedious

Maybe I was naive but this book really was shocking to me. I learned a lot and am glad I read it. However it was a tedious read. Typically the more detail the better to me but even I grew weary of the endless details on the votes and negotiations of the court justices. I was happy when the book ended!

Highly recommend

This is an excellent insider look into the evolution of the Warren Burger Court, covering the years from 1969 through 1975. A clear and very interesting description of how important decisions like Roe v Wade, the Nixon Tapes, and the death penalty were hashed out and decided by an increasingly divided Supreme Court.

Great History

Fast paced look at a critical point in the Supreme Court's history. Great insight into the court workings and personalities that shape the decisions.

Tainted

Interesting, but as a “moderate” I was very disappointed with how the author tainted the facts with his deep liberal bias and unrelenting Burger bashing.