Thurgood Marshall is an authentic American hero: "Mr. Civil Rights;" point person for the NAACP's dismantling of segregation; Judge of the Second Circuit Court of Appeals (from 1961-1965); Solicitor General (1965-1967); and Justice of the Supreme Court (1967-1991). Mark Tushnet's Thurgood Marshall: His Speeches, Writings, Arguments, Opinions and Reminiscences is a welcome anthology of Marshall's professional writings as lawyer, judge, and storyteller.

Tushnet, Professor of Constitutional Law at Georgetown University Law Center, was Marshall's law clerk during the 1972-1973 term and has written authoritatively about the civil rights movement. He knows the man and material, and has selected the entries with care.

The book contains five parts. Part I contains two of Marshall's appeal briefs, including Brown v. Board of Education, and selected transcripts of oral arguments before the Supreme Court. The briefs substantiate Marshall's "sure instinct for the facts that mattered and an ability to present his case in the way his audience . . . would understand." The oral arguments demonstrate his tenacity in urging his positions despite hard questioning. Marshall the lawyer was clearly a product of his mentor Charlie Houston, Dean of Howard Law School, who taught: "Men, you've got to be social engineers. We've got to turn this whole thing around. And the black man has got to do it; nobody's going to do it for you. . . . You've got to get out there and compete with the other man, and you've got to be better than he is. You might never get what you deserve, but you'll certainly not get what you don't deserve."

Marshall the lawyer was painstakingly thorough. One of his many anecdotes (it was said he could tell a story every day for twenty years and never repeat himself) reflects the pride he took in his legal craftsmanship: a Louisiana judge, not favorably disposed to Marshall or his case, still had to admit, "If Mr. Marshall puts his signature on it, you don't have to check [the citations]."

Part II contains speeches and articles by Marshall while he was a lawyer, for the NAACP's magazine and other periodicals. These are interesting glimpses into the fellowship and frustrations of the civil rights effort, as well as Marshall's methods of advocacy. In his testimonial remarks for Philadelphia lawyer Raymond Pace Alexander, Marshall defines true advocacy as "to put your client above everything else . . . in such a fashion as to get the respect of everyone else."

Part III, contains speeches by Marshall when he was a judge. The section includes Marshall's cautionary remarks during the 1987 bicentennial of the Constitution. Only a Constitution "defective from the start" would permit the Supreme Court to assert in 1857 that it provided blacks with "no rights which the white man was bound to respect." It took "several amendments, a civil war, and momentous social transformation to attain the system of constitutional government, and its respect for the individual freedoms and human rights, that we hold as fundamental today." Also included are Marshall's annual talks at the Second Circuit Judicial Conference. Marshall speaks with great affection for the Second Circuit, with which he was closely affiliated for over a quarter-century, and candidly admits his disagreement with the direction of the Burger and Rehnquist courts.

Part IV, contains a sampling, edited for a general audience, of Justice Marshall's "322 majority opinions, 83 concurrences, and 363 dissents" during his twenty-four years on the Supreme Court. (An appendix catalogs the most significant opinions). The number of dissents is striking. "Maybe I am just a voice crying in the wilderness," Marshall said in 1988, "but as long as I have breath in me I am going to cry."

Randall Kennedy's lucid foreword acknowledges that Marshall's career as an attorney outshone his career as a judge, but only because Marshall's career as a lawyer was so extraordinary that what followed had to be anticlimactic. Another reason for Marshall's limited impact as a judge, at least to-date, is that the court turned rightward just as he became a part of it, and he spent the last part of his career decrying the diminution of principles he had struggled so hard to establish. Sometimes the Court seemed to him to be turning these principles upside down, as in Regents of the University of California v. Bakke (1978), in which Marshall commented: "[I]t must be remembered that, during most of the past 200 years, the Constitution as interpreted by this Court did not prohibit the most ingenious and pervasive forms of discrimination against the Negro. Now, when a State acts to remedy the effects of that legacy of discrimination, I cannot believe that this same Constitution stands as a barrier." The supreme irony is that Marshall's final years on the Court were under Chief Justice Rehnquist, who wrote a memo to Justice Jackson concerning Brown arguing that the "separate but equal" doctrine was perfectly constitutional.

The final section, Reminiscences, is the Columbia Oral History Project interview of Marshall. It is a delightful collection of practiced anecdotes, reflecting Marshall's immense charm and humor. Marshall relates even the most harrowing of episodes, his near lynching, with humor. Arrested on pretext of driving while drunk, he narrowly escaped the lynch mob when a tee-totaling magistrate ordered his release. He called Attorney General Clark (later maneuvered by LBJ to resign his Supreme Court seat to Marshall), who asked, "Where you drunk?" Marshall replied, "Well, Mr. Attorney General, about five minutes after I hang up this phone, I'm going to be drunk."

Carla Williams' juvenile biography of Thurgood Marshall, the first African-American justice on the U.S. Supreme Court is one of the best volumes in the Journey to Freedom series, a excellent collection of reference books committed to educating children about the achievements and contributions of noted African Americans. We learn that Marshall had shortened his first name from Thoroughgood, his paternal grandfather who had been born a slave, while his maternal grandfather, Isaiah Williams, had been born free. A pivotal moment in Marshall's life comes when he attends Lincoln University, the first American university for black students, where he was a classmate fo the poet Langston Hughes. The students voted to determine if they wanted to add black teachers to the faculty; Marshall voted against the idea until Hughes convinced him that black students needed black teachers as role models. Students will find it instructive that such a major figure in the Civil Rights movement as Thurgood Marshall could have taken such a position once upon a time.

Young readers of this biography will come away with a very clear appreciation of Marshall's impressive body of work as a lawyer and a jurist. There was even a song called "Thurgood Marshall, Mr. Civil Rights" that was sung to the tune of "The Ballad of Davy Crockett." Marshall won 29 of 32 cases he argued before the U.S. Supreme Court and never had any decisions overturned or reversed when he was appointed by President Kennedy as the first African American to serve on the U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals. As Solicitor General Marshall continued his record of arguing and winning more cases before the Supreme Court than anybody else. Consequently, when President Johnson appointed Marshall to the nation's highest court, there could be no doubt about his qualifications. Williams reminds us that as a young student at Howard University, Marshall had often come to the Supreme Court to listen to the cases being argued.

This book deals with Marshall's strong beliefs throughout, such as his disapproval of Civil Right protests and "sit-ins," because he feared they would become violent and unsafe. Williams makes a point of explaining why Marshall used the words "Negro" and "colored" rather than "African American" or "black." She relates how Marshall did appreciate the University of Maryland naming its Law School after him, since the school had refused to admit him as a student. Nor did Marshall approve of Clarence Thomas, the conservative African-American judge appointed to replace him on the Court when he retired. Thomas is effectively dismissed with the declaration that he thought Brown vs. Board of Education, Marshall's most famous landmark decision overturning the farcical doctrine of "separate but equal," was decided incorrectly (I am not surprised to note there is not a Clarence Thomas volume in this series, which does include contemporary figures like Colin Powell and Maya Angelou).

This volume does justice to the life and memory of Thurgood Marshall. Young students who have never read about his inspiring life are going to discover that it will be hard for them not to consider Marshall a hero. During Black History Month, or any class unit that covers the Civil Rights movement or the U.S. Supreme Court, Thurgood Marshall is someone students need to learn about and remember.

I purchased this book over three months ago, which of course, I just got to read on a Saturday afternoon (procrastination?). I was looking for a fast, light read as well as a book that would help me improve my time management skills.

I found that this book was excellent in providing multiple solutions and methods for addressing, improving and mitigating various situations dealing with time-sinks. There were multiple sections that I "dog-eared" to go back to dealing with to-do lists, characterizing activities, speed writing, controlling paper flow, optimizing waiting time and also solutions dealing with procrastination and "worrying". I have found the methods provided have very been effective.

If your looking for a book that will be a fast read with tangible guidance dealing with time management, this is an excellent choice (and cheap too!).

Most biographies about World War II participants have focused on two distinct groups of persons: those that served as high ranking military or political leaders or those who served as ordinary soldiers in the field. This follows the well-established practice of studying history from either above or below. While both of these types of studies are important and useful, those in the middle strata of a conflict can enlighten and inform on a much broader range of topics. General William R. Buster's memoir "Time on Target" is a first-rate example of this type of scholarship.
Buster recounts his personal and professional experiences from his graduation from the West Point class of 1940 to his command of a battalion as a Lieutenant Colonel. Buster was one of the first officers in the US Army to begin training with armor and mechanized artillery, and was instrumental in development of tactics and theories for use by these forces. Buster was assigned to the Second Armored Division, and served throughout North Africa, Normandy, and central Europe with this organization. With his unique positions witin the military higherarchy, Buster recounts wonderful episodes involving general officers to privates.
Buster also observes non-military functions and activities, which makes this a unique World War II narrative. He gives colorful accounts of travelling the country in his newly purchased Pontiac convertable, courting his wife-to-be Mildred, and army-base life. Buster also tells of the death of close friends and interaction with refugees and homeless families in Europe. The Postdam Conference and refugee-assistance mission are also documented by Buster.
This book is a useful tool for anyone interested in World War II. Buster relates military, social, and technical information from one of the most unique perspectives during the war. While other works may give more details or a better overall coverage of the war, few can match Buster in the description of his personal wartime actions and impressions.

This book is a MUST for every fan of Madness no matter how involved with the band and the music you are. Whether you own just one copy of their Greatest Hits album, or you are a serious collector trying to obtain the entire back catalogue, or if you just fondly remember those video's the lads used to make which combined unrestrained hilarity with the darker side of Great Britain and the issues facing people in the late 70's through the 80's.

'Total Madness' is packed with some superb stories of how the band formed, their first gigs in and around the pubs of North London and their chaotic rehearsal sessions. It moves on to their signing for 2-Tone and Stiff, TV appearances, tours, before finally covering their demise in 1986 and reformation in 1992 culminating in Madstock in August of that year. Thrown in amongst all this literary nuttiness are some superb pictures covering the entire chronology of events.

As if all this wasn't enough, the one thing that makes this book stand out is that it has been written by a true fan. George Marshall has established himself as one of the leading authorities on many Ska related disciplines, with varying books. 'Total Madness' opens with the words, "They say you should never meet your heroes as it is always a disappointment - but meeting Chris Foreman (guitarist) proved this to be the exception to the rule".

If you are only a mild Madness fan when you pick up this book, you shall certainly be driven to go out and buy some of their work after reading this. George Marshall's infectious love of the band and the era they come from, quickly overtakes any lingering doubts you may have about trouble making skin-heads intent on right-wing politics and fighting.

To sum up, this is the best book on Madness you will find, simply because it is 100% Madness, has great pictures and was written by a true Madness fan FOR Madness fans.

Colin Galbraith

This is one of my daughter's (age 4) favorite books. The spanish translation uses common expressions from Spain which add life to the characters and make it such a pleasure to read. Sam, Lolly, and Spider invent silly stories that get wilder with each turn. This book sparks creativity and can be read over and over again.

In this important work, Bruce Marshall has brought a robust Trinitarian way of thinking about truth and the justification of belief into the wider human discussion of truth and knowledge as it is currently being engaged by analytic philosophers. The author follows George Lindbeck (see "Nature of Doctrine") and attempts to answer the difficult questions that arose as a result of his presentation of a "post-liberal" approach to theological claims which is really more of a return to classical Christian approaches to theology, especially as synthesized by Thomas Aquinas.

My wife and I drive trucks in Alaska for a living. We've read just about every book there is about our great state but never have we read one with some much fun and strange information. I can't believe after 23 years there were still things I could learn, but this book taught me a bundle. And it was fun too.

If you have anything to do with Alaska, visiting or living here, you really should have this book. Oh and the map they provide online to find some of the stuff in the book is pretty cool too.

I bought a copy of this book primarily as a challenge. I've lived in Utah all my life and thought there's nothing a guidebook can teach me. Boy was I wrong! I learned something and I had fun reading it.
Something I think that's nice too is they put pictures of a lot of things they talk about. This is a really cool book.

I've owned this book for years, and I keep going back to it. Incredibly comprehensive and makes my love for the history of ska increase each time I pick it up.
Typical George Marshall style, he has lots of facts, stories, quotes and PICTURES!!!!! Lots of really great visuals you can't find any place else.
I love this book, and I wouldn't trade it for anything!
A must have for any rudie.