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The Supermajority: How the Supreme Court Divided America Hardcover – June 6, 2023

by Michael Waldman (Author)
4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 138 ratings
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A “terrific, if chilling, account” (The Guardian) of how the Supreme Court’s new conservative supermajority is overturning decades of law and leading the country in a dangerous political direction.

In The Supermajority, Michael Waldman explores the tumultuous 2021­­–2022 Supreme Court term. He draws deeply on history to examine other times the Court veered from the popular will, provoking controversy, and backlash. And he analyzes the most important new rulings and their implications for the law and for American society. Waldman asks: What can we do when the Supreme Court challenges the country?

Over three days in June 2022, the conservative supermajority overturned the constitutional right to abortion, possibly opening the door to reconsider other major privacy rights, as Justice Clarence Thomas urged. The Court sharply limited the authority of the EPA, reducing the prospects for combatting climate change. It radically loosened curbs on guns amid an epidemic of mass shootings. It fully embraced legal theories such as “originalism” that will affect thousands of cases throughout the country.

These major decisions—and the next wave to come—will have enormous ramifications for every American.

It was the most turbulent term in memory—with the leak of the opinion overturning Roe v. Wade, the first Black woman justice sworn in, and the justices turning on each other in public, Waldman previews the 2022­–2023 term and how the brewing fights over the Supreme Court and its role that already have begun to reshape politics.

The Supermajority is “a call to action as much as it is a history of the Supreme Court “ (Financial Times) at a time when the Court’s dysfunction—and the demand for reform—are at the center of public debate.
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  1. Print length
    400 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Simon & Schuster
  4. Publication date
    June 6, 2023
  5. Dimensions
    6 x 1.2 x 9 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    1668006065
  7. ISBN-13
    978-1668006061
  8. See all details
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From the Publisher

The Supermajority
The Supermajority
The Supermajority

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Waldman’s book devastatingly demonstrates that . . . the current Court has made clear that even the judiciary’s legitimacy as the law’s highest expositor cannot be presumed." -- Lawrence Tribe ― The New York Review of Books

"A terrific if chilling account of how conservatives hijacked US democracy. . . . Written with the verve of great campaign oratory." -- Charles Kaiser ― The Guardian

“A call to action as much as it is a history of the Supreme Court . . . carries a strong warning for the conservative justices who thus far have been able to carry the day.” -- Brooke Masters ― The Financial Times

"Learned, engaging, fierce - I expect [The Supermajority] to exert huge influence in Democratic Senate and presidential debate about the stakes in 2024 and after." -- David Frum, @davidfrum, 5/22/23

“A damning account of a Supreme Court gone wildly activist in shredding the Constitution." ― Kirkus Reviews

"Today's Supreme Court poses a crisis for American democracy. It has set the country back on voting rights, reproductive rights, gun safety and racial justice, with more damage possibly to come. This compelling book tells the story of this critical moment in the long struggle for a better, more equitable country. It's not a story just for lawyers - it's something every American must know." -- Eric Holder, former U.S. Attorney General

"Michael Waldman's The Supermajority is nothing less than a public service. With writerly skill and lawyerly authority he has produced a panoramically sweeping and deeply disturbing account of the Supreme Court's lurch to the hard right. Anyone trying to grasp how just nine unelected justices with lifetime tenure could completely upend American life must read this important book." -- Jane Mayer, author of Dark Money, Chief Washington Correspondent, The New Yorker

“Each week’s headlines reveal how much power the Supreme Court holds over all our lives. Abortion… guns…the environment…our democracy – The Supermajority dramatizes the explosive impact of these nine justices. It shows how politics shapes the Court, and how the Court shapes the country. It's a revelatory look at America's history, an incisive reflection on our future. Essential reading to understand today's politics.” -- George Stephanopoulos

"Compulsively readable and urgent, The Supermajority briskly details the Supreme Court’s past, while meticulously documenting its impact on our present and future. At every turn, Waldman’s unsparing eye and clear voice illustrate how the Court’s veneer of neutrality has yielded to a cynical political calculus that makes every case a potential landmine for justice and democracy." -- Melissa Murray, Frederick I. and Grace Stokes Professor of Law, New York University School of Law

"Michael Waldman's powerful account of the Supreme Court and how the current supermajority came to be and the dangerous consequences of their decisions is a must-read account of our most important legal institution—troubling, provocative, insightful, and engaging all at the same time." -- Julian E. Zelizer, coauthor of Myth America, Malcolm Stevenson Forbes, Class of 1941 Professor of History and Public Affairs, Princeton University

About the Author

Michael Waldman is president and CEO of the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law, a nonpartisan law and policy institute that works to revitalize the nation’s systems of democracy and justice. He was director of speechwriting for President Bill Clinton from 1995 to 1999 and is the author of The Second Amendment: A Biography and The Fight to Vote. Waldman was a member of the Presidential Commission on the Supreme Court. A graduate of Columbia College and NYU School of Law, he comments widely in the media on law and policy.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Simon & Schuster (June 6, 2023)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 400 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1668006065
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1668006061
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.19 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 1.2 x 9 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 138 ratings

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Michael Waldman

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Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
4.6 out of 5
138 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Henry D.
5.0 out of 5 stars The Supermajority: How the Supreme Court Divided America
Reviewed in the United States on January 28, 2024
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Extremely well written and a must-read for every American.
Drive a lot? Get it on CD.
2 people found this helpful
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LL
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Info!
Reviewed in the United States on November 13, 2023
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I was not aware of all this information. Well researched and explained. Appreciate having access to this!
One person found this helpful
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Anita Farber-Robertson
5.0 out of 5 stars great examination of the evolving Supreme Court
Reviewed in the United States on August 6, 2023
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The Supreme Court has exercised significant power in redirecting the way democracy functions or doesn’t. How it has understood itself and its role and function has not been constant through our history.
This book is well written and very accessible, inviting us to understand the history of the Supreme Court, it’s various pressures and influences, and the real danger it has the potential of unleashing
8 people found this helpful
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little B
5.0 out of 5 stars Great current perspective
Reviewed in the United States on September 2, 2023
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Examines the impact of today's POTUS and how we got there.
3 people found this helpful
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The View
5.0 out of 5 stars So Interesting and Factual
Reviewed in the United States on December 1, 2023
A very good book that really discusses the current Supreme Court and how it got to the level of mistrust it has now with the public. The court now seems to be making political moves and not acting as a court.
One person found this helpful
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RHG
5.0 out of 5 stars Explains why trust in today's Supreme Court is at a fifty year low
Reviewed in the United States on August 23, 2023
Michael Waldman's book is a very readable overview of the impact the Supreme Court has and continues to have on Americans. Waldman opens the book with landmark cases which have affected American including Marbury vs Madison (1803) which established the Court's right to strike down laws it considers unconstitutional, Dred Scott (1857) which helped precipitate the Civil War, and Lochner (1905) which ruled unconstitutional state and local statutes which protected workers. Waldman discusses these landmark cases clearly and concisely.

The core of the book though discusses the Supreme Court's three landmark decisions in 2022: 1) Bruen which overturned a New York City statute prohibited the carrying of concealed weapons, and confirming the right of citizens to carry arms in public, 2) Dobbs which ruled the U.S. Constitution does not confer the right to abortion pushing the decision down to the states, and 3) West Virginia which ruled the EPA does not have the authority to require utilities to switch energy sources to limit emissions.

But the sections I found most interesting were the author's discussion throughout the book of why the Court has lost the respect and trust of so many Americans. According to a recent Gallup poll, trust in the Supreme Court is at a fifty year low. There are many reasons for this from unpopular court decisions, to flippant remarks by the Justices, to personal scandals. Waldman explains how the Court has lost trust through many specific examples such as Justice Alito's comment after Dobbs that "Roe was egregiously wrong from the start" undermining fifty years of decisions by the Court supporting Roe vs Wade -- and trust in the Court.

Highly recommended as a thoughtful and well-written book on the Supreme Court's history, fallibilities, and impact on every American.
12 people found this helpful
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Joe P
1.0 out of 5 stars Liberal views on the current Supreme Court
Reviewed in the United States on June 20, 2023
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The author has a definite liberal view of the recent Supreme Court decisions since Justice Barrett’s appointment gave the Court a 6 to 3 conservative majority. He is very critical of the Court and also disdainful. If the recent decisions went the other way he would be happy with the Court. I do not feel he has made a compelling case that the Court’s decisions are wrong except that these decisions do not match the views of the author. I do not advise wasting time reading this biased book and am particularly concerned with his obvious disdain for the 6 conservative justices.
19 people found this helpful
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LaShanda
5.0 out of 5 stars Essential Reading!!
Reviewed in the United States on August 27, 2023
There isn't an American institution more consequential to our everyday lives than the United States Supreme Court & yet it's the one institution that is probably understood the least by Americans. The overturning of Roe v. Wade by the Supreme Court in June 2022 has forever changed this country. The Dobbs decision of June 2022 has sparked a newfound interest in the SCOTUS. In The Supermajority, author Michael Waldman used recent Supreme Court decisions while also giving a historical perspective of the court. In addition, he covered the shift of balance on the court & its new conservative majority. I found this book fascinating. While I knew quite a bit about the court, I still learned a great deal. This book was an excellent read & would be perfect for a government or civics class. Having read this one, I'm intrigued to read other books by Michael Waldman.
6 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

Terry Trowbridge
5.0 out of 5 stars The inside baseball for this book
Reviewed in Canada on August 11, 2023
Verified Purchase
A quick, easy read.
Flip to the last chapter. There, the author sets up a debate between Kagan and Alito that has been evolving in their guest lectures at universities and fundraisers. This book is exceptionally well-researched, with the caveat that there are no citations given throughout the text (instead you must flip to the Notes at the back, which are organized by page and sentence). So while it doesn't look like academic quality at first glance, the readable style doesn't sacrifice evidence and specificity, but you need to flip to the back to find it.
This book is useful to anyone who works for a charitable organization that is considering the future of American law in human rights, environment, and diversity in US and North American society.
Canadians should read this book ASAP if they want to understand the difference between everything they know about American law, and the election in 2024.
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Marianne Pomeroy
5.0 out of 5 stars It's a must read for everyone who has questions about the present US Supreme Court
Reviewed in Germany on July 16, 2023
Verified Purchase
It is very informative and well written.
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Peter
4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting read
Reviewed in Australia on May 6, 2024
Verified Purchase
This is a very good history of the Supreme Court and the possible biases that are formed when the court gets a preponderance of liberal or conservative Justices.

The author provides us with a history of questionable judgements made over the years with an explanation of how they came about.

The main issue for the USA today is that the conservative leaning Justices have a six to three majority and laws are being changed and longstanding cases being overturned (Roe vs Wade) that will affect the nation for years to come.

A well-written and breezy book that doesn't get too bogged down in legalese.
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