|
| My Grandfather's Son: A Memoir | 
enlarge | Author: Clarence Thomas Publisher: Harper Category: Book
List Price: $26.95 Buy Used: $2.75 You Save: $24.20 (90%)
New (62) Used (64) Collectible (9) from $2.75
Avg. Customer Rating: 313 reviews Sales Rank: 20643
Media: Hardcover Number Of Items: 1 Pages: 304 Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.2 Dimensions (in): 8.9 x 6.2 x 1.3
ISBN: 0060565551 Dewey Decimal Number: 921 EAN: 9780060565558 ASIN: 0060565551
Publication Date: October 1, 2007 Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Condition: EX-LIBRARY; used item may have library binding and show stamps, stickers or other marks. Items not meeting quality expectations may be returned for refund. Buy with confidence - your satisfaction is guaranteed at B-Logistics! Due to the large scale of our operation, we do not have access to the specific contents/condition of our items.
|
| Also Available In:
|
| Similar Items:
|
| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
Provocative, inspiring, and unflinchingly honest, My Grandfather's Son is the story of one of America's most remarkable and controversial leaders, Supreme Court justice Clarence Thomas, told in his own words. Thomas was born in rural Georgia on June 23, 1948, into a life marked by poverty and hunger. His parents divorced when Thomas was still a baby, and his father moved north to Philadelphia, leaving his young mother to raise him and his brother and sister on the ten dollars a week she earned as a maid. At age seven, Thomas and his six-year-old brother were sent to live with his mother's father, Myers Anderson, and her stepmother in their Savannah home. It was a move that would forever change Thomas's life. His grandfather, whom he called "Daddy," was a black man with a strict work ethic, trying to raise a family in the years of Jim Crow. Thomas witnessed his grandparents' steadfastness despite injustices, their hopefulness despite bigotry, and their deep love for their country. His own quiet ambition would propel him to Holy Cross and Yale Law School, and eventually?despite a bitter, highly contested public confirmation?to the highest court in the land. In this candid and deeply moving memoir, a quintessential American tale of hardship and grit, Clarence Thomas recounts his astonishing journey for the first time, and pays homage to the man who made it possible. Intimately and eloquently, Thomas speaks out, revealing the pieces of his life he holds dear, detailing the suffering and injustices he has overcome, including the acrimonious and polarizing Senate hearing involving a former aide, Anita Hill, and the depression and despair it created in his own life and the lives of those closest to him. My Grandfather's Son is the story of a determined man whose faith, courage, and perseverance inspired him to rise up against all odds and achieve his dreams.
|
| Customer Reviews: Read 308 more reviews...
Fascinating Autobiography January 4, 2009 1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I rarely read autobiographies, especially of recent or current figures under the assumption history has not had time to judge the value of the person. I made an exception for Clarence Thomas and I am quite glad I did. The story of his life is fascinating and educational. His upbringing in the segregation of Savannah to his time in college and law school to the early parts of his career in Missouri are fascinating. Justic Thomas' insight into his views of the world and how they were formed add to the book and provide a rare insight into a person who sits on our highest court.
His later career, and the expression of opinions and views different from prevailing wisdom is especially interesting at this time when prevailing wisdom may threaten those with dissenting views. In some cases he may be right and in some he may be wrong, but the courage with which he approaches and maintains his views in this book and in his actions as head of the EEOC, as a judge and as a justice have built my respect for him. I highly recommend this book, especially to those who disagree with some of Justice Thomas' decisions.
Not at all what I expected December 27, 2008 2 out of 3 found this review helpful
Not at alll what I expected. I felt he dealt too much on the racial profiling. I never bother to care regarding someone's color or culture; but this book was too obvious.
My Grandfather's Son by Clarence Thomas December 26, 2008 1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This was given as a gift and the recipent said it was truly a wonderful book.
Prompt delivery December 16, 2008 This book arrived first of the four I had ordered. A very prompt and speedy delivery.
Interesting read, I suppose... December 6, 2008 2 out of 3 found this review helpful
I picked up this book after reading the scores of positive reviews on Amazon and was looking for something to give me a little more depth into Clarence Thomas' character. I admit that I was drawn to look for more only after reading Randall Kennedy's book, "Sellout" and having my interest piqued by an entire chapter devoted to the popular notion of Clarence Thomas being the quintessential "Sellout." (Please note this is NOT the position of the author, Kennedy, merely an observation that he dedicates roughly a chapter to in his book.)
I have to say that the book was an engrossing read, but almost in the way that McDonald's is an engrossing meal - that is to say, I worked my way through it engaged and interested, but left with a little bit of discomfort after finishing it. I acknowledge that the book gives the reader a very clear lens through which to understand Clarence Thomas the man and his own construction of race relations, having grown up in difficult circumstances in a de facto "Segregated South." I was, however, perhaps a little more disappointed that all of his life experiences amount to little more than a bitterness that the advent of affirmative actions led to the questioning of all of his own achievements by his white, liberal peers despite his own hard work. He comes across as a fiercely intelligent and hard working, but a mean, petty jerk and what is clear is that this meanness pervades his own perceptions of white reactions to his accomplishments. By the end of the book, it becomes difficult to parse out how much of his narrative is a deliberate personal ideology and how much of it is simply the musings of a man with the world's biggest chip on his shoulder. This of course, is not the fault of the writing, which was well executed and a pleasure to read.
For what it's worth, I have read quite a few of Thomas' opinions and find them to be weak to average (compared to other justices') at best, and I do not consider him to be one of the great legal minds of the court. I would have to say that my opinion of him remains generally unchanged through the reading of this memoir, but I would recommend this book to anyone who is looking for insight into this cryptic, quiet justice.
|
|
|
Powered by Associate-O-Matic
| |