Recommended: The Nine: Inside the Secret World of the Supreme Court

Jeffrey Toobin, a staff writer for the New Yorker and CNN senior legal analyst, interviewed not only the justices themselves, but also some seventy five of their law clerks to build a comprehensive picture of the Supreme Court, how it operates, the issues it deals with, and the personalities of the justices themselves. The entire decades-long conservative battle to “capture” the court and turn it to the conservative agenda (first and foremost, to overturn Roe v. Wade) is documented in detail, along with a brilliant and fascinating analysis of why, despite all the supposedly conservative appointment to the court, Roe v. Wade has yet to be overturned. Also included is a detailed description of the Court’s participation in the disputed Bush vs Gore election. This might seem like an arcane subject, but once I started it, I couldn’t put this book down. (see the book list on the sidebar for the ISBN number)