Review: The Nine

September 6, 9:35 PMKansas City Books ExaminerAngie Rayfield

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Although this summer's confirmation hearings for Justice Sonia Sotomayor put the Court on the front page for a time, it's likely that majority of Americans seldom spare a thought for the Supreme Court of the United States, or SCOTUS. It's a branch of government that usually works in relative obscurity, outside of the rare headline-making case.

Toobin's look at the inner workings and personalities of the U.S. Supreme Court seeks to remove the air of mystery that surrounds the deliberations and decisions of the court. The Nine: Inside the Secret World of the Supreme Court looks at roughly 15 years of court history, focusing largely on the individual justices, giving the reader an understanding of the behind-the scene workings of the court.

Despite the popular idea that the Court is a group of disinterested bystanders only interested in interpreting the law, the Court is made up of justices chosen through a politicized process and for political reasons. Toobin makes an effort to show the link between the justices' backgrounds and their legal views, and presents quick thumbnail sketches of their personalities and attitudes - all things that influence their decisions. It's a fascinating look at the very real people who come together to decide cases that can affect the entire nation.

Toobin's background as a working attorney provided him with a solid foundation on the way to becoming one of the most recognized legal journalists in the United States. He received a B.A. from Harvard College before graduating magna cum laude from Harvard Law School, where he was an editor of the "Harvard Law Review" before becoming a practicing attorney. He has been a staff writer at "The New Yorker" since 1993, and is the senior legal analyst for CNN.

The Nine was on the New York Times best-seller list for over four months, and was named one of the ten best books of the year by the New York Times Book Review. It received the J. Anthony Lukas Book Prize for Non-fiction, and the Silver Gavel Award from the American Bar Association.