The New York Times Book Review - Alan M. Dershowitz
Reading Scalia Speaks—the marvelous collection of his speeches, lovingly compiled by his son and a former law clerk—brought Nino back to life for me. His words, even when read, are provocations to argue, disagree and think. They cannot be read passively. They cry out for dialogue. They demand answers—or surrender…[Scalia] was more than an influential justice. He was a great man, who lived life to the fullest—as a devout Catholic, a proud Italian-American, a devoted family man, a loyal friend, and a person of humor and culture who fondly remembered his roots in Queens and New Jersey. Scalia Speaks gives us a glimpse of the man, as I came to know and respect him, despite—no, because of—our arguments.
From the Publisher
"Reading Scalia Speaks — the marvelous collection of his speeches, lovingly compiled by his son and a former law clerk — brought Nino back to life for me."
-Alan M. Dershowitz, The New York Times Book Review
"This marvelous book surely will be required reading for anyone seeking to understand the mind of this great jurist and conservative thinker. But I would go further and say that it should be required reading for anyone who wishes to understand the mind of a great American, a figure so important to our history that his passing influenced the presidential election held months later. If “Scalia Speaks” can be said to have one fundamental flaw—one shared with the man’s life—it is that it ends too soon."
-Wall Street Journal
“A treasure that captures Justice Antonin Scalia’s brilliance, wit, faith, humility and wide range of knowledge...Scalia speaks in his own words in this magnificent volume that should be on the bookshelf of every educated American.”
-Washington Post
"In decades of public speeches at home and abroad, Scalia educated, challenged, and entertained countless audiences. Now anyone who wants to benefit from the late justice’s wit and wisdom can do so with Scalia Speaks.…[An] indispensable book."
-Weekly Standard
“Scalia Speaks is engrossing and invaluable, a treasure for lawyers and non-lawyers alike, a milestone in the literature of this profoundly influential American and in the annals of the Supreme Court.”
-James Rosen
“An almost intimate picture of one of the giants of our age…Scalia’s mind sparkled like a gem, but perhaps, in our turbulent time, the most important takeaway from this collection is the lesson it teaches about civility.”
-Mona Charen
“An extraordinary portrait of a great public figure and thinker. The book is an intellectual feast and at the same time great fun to read. It displays an exceptionally coherent worldview articulated with great force and wit. It's enormously enlightening.
-Yuval Levin
Library Journal
★ 10/15/2017
This fine representative assemblage of Supreme Court Justice Scalia's speeches pays tribute to his ready wit and facility with language. Assembled by Scalia's son Christopher, writer and erstwhile English professor, and his former law clerk Whelan (president, Ethics and Public Policy Ctr.), these selections from Scalia's voluminous addresses provide an excellent exploration of the late justice's favorite topics. Indeed, the book's subtitle captures its spirit, promising and delivering such reflections. Fans and opponents alike will benefit by immersing themselves in Scalia's entertaining, albeit at times infuriating, pronouncements. Divided into six comprehensive sections: "On the American People and Ethnicity," "On Living and Learning," "On Faith," "On Law," "On Virtue and the Public Good," and "On Heroes and Friends," and with a foreword by Scalia's dear friend and jurisprudential nemesis Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, this volume truly captures the man and his wide-ranging thought. Particularly recommended for interested law readers are the speeches "The Idea of the Constitution," "Original Meaning," "Interpreting the Constitution," and "Dissents." VERDICT Indispensable for Scalia aficionados, fans of Scalia's Court: A Legacy of Landmark Opinions and Dissents, edited by Kevin A. Ring, and anyone fascinated by this legendary jurist.—Lynne Maxwell, West Virginia Univ. Coll. of Law Lib., Morgantown
