SILENT JUSTICE: The Clarence Thomas Story

Books about Justice Thomas and his appointment to the Supreme Court probably outnumber those about the other eight judges combined. For those who missed the earlier ones, this ragged scissors-and-glue-pot biography provides a catchup. Greenya, a prolific author, coauthor and collaborator whose previous subjects include, among others, David Stockman, Charles Manson, Pierre Salinger and F. Lee Bailey, brings little that's fresh and nothing that's explosive to this retread of published works, which pushes the fair use rule to its outer limits. The harried reader, however, will find long enough quotes—from such works as Timothy Phelps and Helen Winternitz's Capitol Games (1992), Jane Mayer and Jill Abramson's Strange Justice (1994), John Danforth's Resurrection (1994), Norman Macht's juvenile bio Clarence Thomas (1995), Juan Williams's reportage (from the Washington Post in 1980 and the Atlantic Monthly in 1987) and Nina Totenberg's NPR broadcasts and even People—to satisfy any impulse for reviewing the secondary material. Thomas himself appears in lengthy excerpts from hearing transcripts, articles, public speeches and published interviews. Recent interviews with people who knew or knew of Thomas—including a "telephone interview... for the exclusive purposes of this book" with John Danforth, and the musings of the owner of Graffiti, the source of Thomas's "adult videos"— add little to previously available material. (Sept.)

Forecast:With a five-city tour and national advertising, this may get some play on the cable talk channels on slow news days.