American Original; The Life and Constitution of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia

New York: Farrar , Straus and Giroux, 2009. First Edition [Stated], First Printing [Stated]. Hardcover. Very good/Very good. Mollie Isaacs (Jacket Photograph). [12], 434, [2] pages. Illustrations. Notes. Selected Bibliography. Index. This is a Sarah Crichton book. Joan Biskupic (born c. 1956) is an American journalist, author, and lawyer who has covered the United States Supreme Court since 1989. She has been Editor in Charge, Legal Affairs for Reuters since February 2012. She is also a legal analyst for CNN. From 2000-12 she was the Legal Affairs Correspondent for USA Today. From 1992 to 2000, she was the Supreme Court reporter for The Washington Post, and from 1989 to 1992 she was a legal affairs writer for Congressional Quarterly. Her work was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in Explanatory Reporting in 2015. She was awarded the 1991 Everett McKinley Dirksen Award for Distinguished Reporting on Congress for her coverage of the Clarence Thomas hearings for Congressional Quarterly. Prior to that, she covered government and politics for the Milwaukee Journal and the Tulsa Tribune. Biskupic has written a number of books on the Supreme Court, including biographies of Supreme Court Justices Sandra Day O'Connor, Antonin Scalia, and Sonia Sotomayor. Derived from a Kirkus review: The legal affairs correspondent for USA Today examines the life and legal philosophy of the Supreme Court's most colorful, combative and controversial Justice. Antonin Scalia did not invent the doctrine of originalism, but he has been its most prominent practitioner during his 22 years on the Court. Rejecting the notion of a so-called "living" or "evolving" Constitution and disparaging the influence of international law, Scalia has emerged as a conservative champion, decrying the meddlesome ways of Court colleagues. Scalia prefers a legislative resolution of democracy's contentious issues and takes a broad view of executive power. Biskupic sets out the origins of Scalia's judicial philosophy and explains its increasing influence. The book's real charm, however, lies in her treatment of the man. She traces the important influences on Scalia-the lessons from his immigrant parents, the centrality of his Catholic faith, the early professional experiences in the Nixon justice department-and offers a portrait of a man quite unlike any other judge. Especially against the decorous backdrop of the Supreme Court,