"Supreme Court justice Harry Blackmun's lifelong connection with Chief Justice Warren Burger — beginning in kindergarten in St. Paul, Minn., and culminating in 16 years together on the Supreme Court — supplies Greenhouse with one of her main organizing themes in this illuminating study of Blackmun's life and intellectual history. Once the closest of friends, Blackmun (1908 — 1999) and Burger diverged personally and ideologically, beginning in 1973, when Burger assigned Blackmun to write the Court's opinion in Roe v. Wade. Greenhouse, the New York Times's veteran Supreme Court watcher, draws primarily on Blackmun's massive personal archive to show how his authorship of the majority opinion in Roe (7 — 2) propelled him down several unexpected paths. Blackmun embraced equal protection for women and came to reject capital punishment. A Nixon appointee, Blackmun became the Supreme Court's most liberal justice after the retirement of William Brennan and Thurgood Marshall. The personality that emerges in Greenhouse's portrayal is that of a self-effacing and scholarly judge, devoid of partisanship, willing to follow his ideas wherever they led him. Making no pretense at being definitive or comprehensive, Greenhouse sets a high standard in offering an intimate look both at the man and at the development of his judicial thought. B&w photos." Publishers Weekly (Starred Review) (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

A Pulitzer Prize-winning correspondent with unprecedented access to the inner workings of the U.S. Supreme Court chronicles the personal transformation of legendary justice Harry A. Blackmun who wrote numerous landmark decisions, including Roe v. Wade, and participated in the most contentious debates of his era--all behind closed doors.

A Pulitzer Prize-winning Supreme Court correspondent offers an unprecedented look at the inner workings of the U.S. Supreme Court and the personal transformation of a legendary justice. Harry A. Blackmun took his seat on the Supreme Court in 1970, and for the next 24 years he wrote numerous landmark decisions--including Roe v. Wade--and participated in hundreds of deliberations. All through that time he saved his notes from every oral argument and conference, as well as draft opinions and memos. The archive he compiled is one of the great caches of inside documents from this most private of our public institutions, and in this book, Linda Greenhouse of The New York Times reveals the backstage story of the Supreme Court through the eyes and writings of Harry Blackmun. Greenhouse, who has covered the Court for over 25 years and has won a Pulitzer Prize, uses Blackmun's archive to craft a compelling narrative of how Blackmun changed in surprising ways during his years on the Court, especially on such issues as the death penalty and sex discrimination, even though he was already 61 years old when he was appointed. The story of his lifelong friendship with Chief Justice Warren E. Burger, and how that friendship withered in the crucible of life on the nation's highest court, is another compelling human story that runs through the narrative, revealing how political differences became personal--even for the country's most respected jurists. The Blackmun Papers offers a view of life on the Supreme Court, as it is rarely glimpsed. It is a must-read for everyone who cares about the Court and its impact on our lives.

Linda Greenhouse has covered the Supreme Court for The New York Times since 1978 and won a Pulitzer Prize in 1998 for her coverage of the Court. She appears regularly on the PBS program Washington Week in Review and lectures frequently on the Supreme Court at colleges and law schools. She graduated from Radcliffe College and holds a master of studies in law from Yale Law School.