Thurgood Marshall: American Revolutionary - Hardcover

In other words, Thurgood Marshall is a major American figure who lived at the center of race relations in America for over fifty years. Until now, Marshall has never been the subject of a thoroughly researched biography for general readers, and now, we have the ideal biographer: Juan Williams, a nationally known commentator, Washington Post reporter, Emmy-award winning documentary writer, and best-selling author of EYES ON THE PRIZE. This book is Juan's magnum opus. He's been working on it for the past eight years, interviewed over 150 sources, and conducted over 20 hours of exclusive interviews with Marshall.

This book is the definitive word on Marshall's life. Juan Williams takes us behind the scenes during all of the important movements in Marshall's career: His early criminal cases, in which he fought to save the lives of innocent black men on death row and developed a life-long opposition to the death penalty; his pioneering desegregation and voting rights cases in Texas; the incredible story of the time he was almost lynched after successfully arguing a case in Mississippi; plus his legendary work on Brown versus The Board of Education; his battle with Bobby Kennedy to secure an appointment as a federal court judge; his negotiations with J. Edgar Hoover, who was an enemy at first and later an important ally, and the inside story of how Marshall helped Hoover uproot communists from the NAACP; and his years on the Supreme Court, where he frustrated conservatives by holding onto his seat and fighting for the disenfranchised longer than anyone ever expected.

While I was reading this book, I realized that there is nobility to Marshall's life. His is a classic inspirational American story, up from nowhere, propelled by will and wit and all the way to the highest levels of power in the United States. This is a sweeping study of an iconic figure in American life, an ordinary man who became extraordinary and changed our history.