Thurgood Marshall: Warrior at the Bar, Rebel on the Bench

Though a competent survey of retired Supreme Court justice Thurgood Marshall's career, this book offers neither great insight into the jurist's private life nor close analysis of his public work. The authors, both Washington, D.C.-based journalists (Clark was once a Supreme Court page), apparently could not speak with Marshall himself; they interviewed only a few of his close associates and rely significantly on secondary sources. Marshall's upbringing in Baltimore and his civil rights legislation--his work for the NAACP, his handling of the landmark case Brown v. Board of Education --receive more thorough treatment in Richard Kluger's Simple Justice. While a more careful assessment of Marshall's 24 years as the sole African American on the Supreme Court must wait for another biographer, this book is a useful introduction. Photos not seen by PW. $35,000 ad/promo; 35,000 first printing. (Nov.)