NYT review of Clarence Thomas’ new book

Filed under: Jessica Schneider — jesschn on October 10, 2007 @ 5:51 pm CEST

There is a review of My Grandfather’s Son in The New York Times. As quoted from the William Grimes review:

“Here, emotions get the better of him, as he portrays himself as a persecuted, almost Christlike figure singled out by the liberal establishment, at the behest of his civil rights enemies, not just for criticism but also for total annihilation. You wonder if, when writing these fiery chapters, Justice Thomas recalled his own admiring words about his grandfather.”

******

“His critics might not be moved by his political arguments, but his memoir gives them a man, not a caricature, to attack. Justice Thomas faced enormous obstacles in life. His deadbeat father, referred to only as C, abandoned his family to a life of poverty so extreme that the children did not put sugar on their cereal. Daddy, whose small fuel-oil business provided a modest income, sent Clarence to Catholic schools, but the harsh racial environment in Georgia put enormous pressure on black children trying to move further than their parents.”

Anyone interested should definitely check out the review which can be found here. The book also goes into detais about his personal troubles, his drinking, and his disagreement with liberal policies.

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1 domajot

October 21, 2007 @ 10:12 pm CEST

Having never met the man, I come to my observations with caution and full acknowledgement that I could be totally wrong.

However, from what I’ve seen of Thomas in interviews and C-Span coverage of book parties, I would definitely agree that this is a man in thrall to his emotions.
While chatting amiably with some of those present, he often greets others with a reminder to keep to their chins up, even when there are no signs of them being down-hearted. Some appeared to be startled by the admonition,in fact.

In a flash, he goes from being relaxed and chatty, to being melodramatically affectionate, to being driven to deliver some metaphysical message, to being angry or wary. Tense moments and a wonderful, infectious and full throated laugh replace each other with dizzying rapidity.

All of this makes him a fascinating man for those like me who are interested in what makes people tick.

None of this pertains to his judcial philosophy in a pre-ordained way, BTW. Emotions can drive a person in a number of different directions.