Content area
Full Text
Chief Justice: A Biography of Earl Warren. By Ed Cray. (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1997. iv, 603 pp. $30.00, ISBN 0-684-80852-8.)
Chief Justice Earl Warren was the dominant judicial figure of the twentieth century, although the University of Southern California journalism professor Ed Cray explains that he was an unlikely candidate for such fame. His background was political and legal, not judicial, as was that of Warren's closet rival in reputation, Associate Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. Warren made a mark as district attorney in Alameda County, California, became a popular attorney general of the Golden State, and subsequently served three terms as governor. In 1948 he was the Republicans' vice presidential candidate; four years later, after contemplating a run for the top post himself, he threw...