Scalia
Rise to Greatness, 1936 to 1986
Format:Hardback
Publisher:Regnery Publishing Inc
Published:27th Apr '23
Should be back in stock very soon
The bestselling historian and journalist James Rosen provides the first comprehensive account of the brilliant and combative Supreme Court justice Antonin Scalia, whose philosophy and judicial opinions defined our legal era.
With SCALIA: Rise to Greatness, 1936–1986, the opening instalment in a two-volume biography, acclaimed reporter and bestselling historian James Rosen provides the first comprehensive account of the life of Justice Antonin Scalia, whose singular career in government—including three decades on the Supreme Court—shaped American law and society in the twenty-first century.
A decade in the making, Rise to Greatness tells the story of the kid from Queens who became the first Italian American on the Court and one of the most profoundly influential figures of our time. This volume takes us from Scalia’s birth to his ascension to the Court, providing a fresh and probing look at his Catholic upbringing and education; his stints in academia and published works, some of them obscure and long-overlooked; and his service in the Nixon and Ford administrations, when Scalia played a central role in reforming the U.S. intelligence community and in the approval of sensitive covert operations.
Deeply researched and based on unparalleled access to documentary and personal sources, and written with an intellectual rigor and wit befitting its subject, Rosen’s narrative reads like a novel while presenting startling new insight into the life, mind, career, faith, and legacy of the man whom family and friends called “Nino.” The result is a compelling portrait of an American legend with whom the author personally corresponded, broke bread, drank wine, and braved the streets of the capital as a (nervous) passenger in the justice’s famously speedy BMW.
Rosen has unearthed previously unpublished writing from every phase of Scalia’s career, including private Supreme Court emails, and has interviewed Scalia’s family, classmates, students, colleagues from the Nixon, Ford, and Reagan administrations, priests, poker buddies, hunting companions, and fellow judges and justices.
Rise to Greatness is a landmark of modern biography, a rich and moving study, accessible to lay readers, that brings to life a towering figure of American history. It is the book Scalia fans, and all citizens interested in history and the law, have long awaited.
“Ranks among the finest biographies of a Supreme Court justice, or any judge, that I have ever read.”
—Nadine Strossen, John Marshall Harlan II Professor of Law emerita and former president of the American Civil Liberties Union
“James Rosen’s superb writing brings Nino Scalia to life … a treasure of new material … the definitive biography.”
—Paul Krause, VoegelinView, arts and humanities journal of the Eric Voegelin Society
“Groundbreaking … incredibly well researched … highly recommended.”
—Ed Martin, “Pro America Report”
“Groundbreaking and extensively researched”
—Ira Stoll, The New York Sun
“Magnificent … a perfect example of the right author meeting the perfect subject. Rosen is a veteran reporter who does meticulous research, writes beautifully, and has respect and understanding for conservative ideas…. The result is a work that engages the mind and soul even as it illuminates its subject…a first-rate biography of a great man.”
—Mark Judge, Washington Examiner
“An amazing work of research … riveting.”
—Vince Coglianese, The Daily Caller and WMAL radio
“Monumental and definitive.”
—Eric Metaxas, author of Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy and host, “The Eric Metaxas Radio Show”
“Captures Scalia’s brilliance and magnetism. Mr. Rosen’s stylish prose carries the reader…. By the end, one has a keener appreciation of a period in Scalia’s life that earlier biographers have played down or misunderstood…. As Mr. Rosen tells the story, one can’t help feeling inspired … a great read about an American hero.”
—Matthew Continetti, “‘Scalia’ Review: Constitutional Caretaker,” Wall Street Journal
“Really well researched, beautifully written…. My father is featured prominently, and I learned things about his friendship with Nino I didn’t know.”
—Robert Bork, Jr.
“Rich and rewarding.”
—Scot Bertram, General Manager and Host, Radio Hillsdale
“Fascinating … rollicking good fun…. I'm never surprised by how terrific a writer James Rosen is, but his productivity on many levels is astonishing…. Scalia: Rise To Greatness: 1936-1986 is not just a grand read…. Rosen has set a new standard for readability and research on a justice.”
—Hugh Hewitt, host, “The Hugh Hewitt Show” and Washington Post columnist
“Very fine … Rosen’s research is exhaustive and meticulously documented…. He has watched every video, listened to every audio recording … read every transcript … and collected lots of anecdotes.”
—Ed Whelan, Antonin Scalia Chair in Constitutional Studies, Ethics and Public Policy Center, LawLiberty
“Masterly … reads like a novel.”
—Georgene Rice, “The Georgene Rice Show,” KPDQ
“Charming … well-told … brings out Scalia’s full humanity…. What emerges is a wonderful family man, a loving husband and father, and a faithful Catholic.”
—Austin Ruse, “The Rise and Rise of Antonin Scalia,” Catholic World Report
“Stirring … illuminating … engaging…. James Rosen puts his investigative skills to a rewarding end…He describes the justice’s origins with warmth, captures his wit and wisdom, fills in key stages on his path to the Court, and conveys new insights and stories along the way…. What stood out to me when I clerked for Justice Scalia, what comes through in page after page of Rosen’s biography, was the unshakeable sense of what he stood for—and an unforgettable presence that came with it.”
—Judge Jeffrey Sutton, chief judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, National Review
“Remarkable…. Readers come to learn not just the origins of Scalia's originalism but how the man the world would come to know as Nino came to be.”
—Lee Habeeb, Newsweek
“A monumental work … incredibly detailed.”
—Ron Kessler, former Washington Post reporter and author, The Secrets of the FBI
“Energetic … vibrant … meticulous research…. Echoes of Scalia’s wit and humor, amplified by Rosen’s storytelling and ability to draw out the significance of key influences, put the reader right in the room as Scalia advances.”
—Katelynn Richardson, Daily Caller
“Marvelous … lyrical … a biography of nuance and ballast … so vivid and timely that the reader feels right from the start as if he has joined a journey or pilgrimage…. Rosen writes with a brio and crackling energy that is almost tangible, and his personal style carries you along…. Rosen rightly places the late justice’s Christianity at the center of what unfolds layer by layer … evoking that faith in a manner subtle, supple, and nimble in a way rarely achieved in biographies about famous Americans … the best kind of biographical history … earning the late Justice Scalia his perfect biographer.”
—Tim Goeglein, Daily Citizen/Focus on the Family
“An insider account … fills in gaps left by Scalia’s earlier, less ideologically admiring biographers.”
—Francis P. Sempa, The American Spectator
“[A] fine study … adding a multitude of details…. Throughout Rosen’s book, we are struck again and again by the joy [Scalia] found in life and in others.”
—Jeff Minick, The Epoch Times
“Rich and well rounded…. As Rosen details Scalia’s life and work experience, one begins to appreciate the roots of some of the justice’s strongly held opinions.”
—Trey Dimsdale, Acton Institute
“Inspiring … gives significant weight to the interplay between [Scalia’s] faith and legal vocation…. Rosen also documents the strong moral character that inspired and guided his courageous, often lonely efforts to articulate an ‘originalist’ jurisprudence.”
—Joan Frawley Desmond, National Catholic Register
“A brilliant biography of a signal figure … astonishingly thorough … a magnificent evocation of the past, present, and future of American constitutional law … full of new, interesting details … Rosen’s research is awe-inspiring…. Rosen thoroughly describes and documents the formative decades Scalia’s prior biographers largely glossed over…. Poignant…. Spectacular…. [Rosen’s] key contribution is not in explaining his judicial doctrines, but in illuminating his judicial character.”
—Adam J. White, Commentary Magazine
“Lively and thorough … Rosen takes us behind the scenes … refreshing and uplifting.”
—Jeff Minick, Smoky Mountain News
“Draw[s] on dozens of interviews and rich primary source research, much of it previously unpublished…. Through lively and detailed prose, punctuated by extensive dialogue, transcripts and personal recollections, he explores the first half-century of Scalia’s life…. Rosen writes with verve and passion … paints a deeply human picture…. Readers of all political stripes will find in this book an intriguing dissection of the conservative legal mind and the world in which it incubated…. Rosen offers a compelling window into the world we now live in.”
—Benjamin C. Waterhouse, Washington Post
“Thorough research and sparkling prose…. Scalia gets the biography he deserves.”
—Stephen B. Presser, Northwestern Pritzker School of Law, Chronicles Magazine
“Rosen presents so many tantalizing details ... unearths loads of never-before-reported information...Comprehensively reported and filled with stylistic flourishes of the sort its subject would have appreciated, Rise to Greatness is the definitive work on Scalia’s early years.... I can’t wait for Scalia: Supreme Court Years, 1986–2016.”
—Ilya Shapiro, Manhattan Institute, Claremont Review of Books, Fall 2023 issue
ISBN: 9781684512270
Dimensions: unknown
Weight: 751g
500 pages