Moke argues that Earl Warren was one of the central political figures of his time. Warren, who had been attorney general and governor of California, was chief justice from 1953 to 1969; he participated in the civil rights revolution that benefited African Americans, the cases that were meant to enforce the rights of criminally accused persons, and the court-ordered reapportionments of legislatures based on the one-person, one-vote principle. Moke's thesis is easily proven; Warren is considered so influential in these developments that the period is commonly called the Warren Era. Moke mines previously plundered archives and contributes some new material from the 1930s. . . .Moke makes a contribution, showing how the attorney general who supported the Japanese exclusion of 1942 developed into the author of Brown v. Board of Education in 1954 and how the prosecutor who carelessly disregarded the rights of accused persons in the 1930s grew into the defender of the Miranda warning. But in 1964, Moke notes, Warren failed to 'speak truth to power' as the chairman of the Warren Commission. Summing Up: Recommended. General readers and undergraduate students. * CHOICE * The book presents additional insight into the work of the Warren Commission. * Wilmington News-Journal * [An] insightful judicial biography. . . . Moke's biography provides an evenhanded appraisal of the Chief Justice's shortcomings and misjudgments not only while on the bench but in his public service prior to and beyond the high court. An equally important contribution of Moke's book, possibly of greater value in this reviewer's estimation, reminds us how the Supreme Court's approach to the law, often guided by its Chief Justice, matters. . . Hopefully, [the book] will. . . find a home in college and university holdings as well as public libraries; it deserves to be read. * American Review of Politics * This book presents the details of Warren's life and career, including some of his
best known Supreme Court decisions, in an accessible fashion. Persons without legal
training will be able to get a good sense of Warren's contributions. Likewise, it
responds, in a way that other books on Warren have not, to the 'conservative'
criticism of the Warren Court that has surfaced in the last decade. -- G. Edward White, University of Virginia School of Law A thoroughly researched account of Warren's extraordinary life that draws on newly available original sources and provides a comprehensive portrait of his major contributions to 20th Century justice in the U.S., both on and off the bench. Moke's balanced work identifies Warren's great virtues and achievements as well as some critical failures, providing a scholarly perspective accessible to a wide audience -- Howard Tolley, University of Cincinnati Earl Warren and the Struggle for Justice brings vividly to life the story of America's most progressive chief justice, in all his humanity and brilliance. Relying on previously unexplored sources, Professor Moke traces the roots of Earl Warren's relentless belief in the dignity of every person and his determination to ensure that those who are poor and vulnerable receive a fair shake. This book is a marvelous reminder of what the Supreme Court can accomplish when it dedicates itself to making the words engraved above its entrance-equal justice under law-a reality rather than a mere slogan. -- Daniel P. Tokaji, The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law