The remarkable story of John Marshall who, as chief justice, statesman, and diplomat, shaped the foundation of the United States.
Joel Richard Paul is a professor of constitutional and international law at the University of California Hastings Law School in San Francisco. He is the author of Unlikely Allies- How a Merchant, a Playwright and a Spy Saved the American Revolution, which was named one of the best books of 2009 by The Washington Post. He lives in northern California.
Praise for Without Precedent:
“[Paul] has crafted a scholarly but highly readable and often
entertaining chronicle that embeds Marshall among the leading
lights of the nation’s founding generation, humanizing him along
the way... [Marshall] is justly celebrated as the most far-sighted
justice ever to lead the Supreme Court. His lasting achievements
are ably served by Mr. Paul’s deeply felt and penetrating
biography.” —Wall Street Journal
“Law professor Joel Richard Paul brings exactly the kind of
perspective that a legal scholar can best provide to this engaging
biography of US Supreme Court Justice John Marshall.” —Christian
Science Monitor
“Engrossing... Paul brings to life Marshall’s seminal cases.” —The
Weekly Standard
“[Paul] has added a well-written and admiring biography to the long
line of Marshall scholarship.” —San Francisco Chronicle
“Compelling... Paul’s narrative excels when providing background
details and the political context of Marshall’s famous decisions.
Unlike many previous Marshall biographies, this book properly
focuses on the practical circumstances that form the ground of
Marshall’s decision-making.” —National Review
“[Paul] compellingly details the path that brought Marshall to the
Supreme Court and how he was able to achieve so much while there in
the absorbing and aptly titled Without Precedent... This
engrossing account of a key figure in our early history makes for
excellent reading.” —BookPage
“[A] comprehensive and insightful biography... Paul has produced an
excellent treatment of an unquestionably impressive life.”
—Publishers Weekly, starred review
“A well-informed, perceptive, and absorbing biography of a titan of
American history.” —Kirkus Reviews, starred review
“This historical account of the longest-serving Chief Justice in
the court’s history provides in-depth insight into the early days
of the Supreme Court and Marshall’s lasting influence.” —Above The
Law
“Paul offers an impressive biography on John Marshall, a politician
and judge who became known as the nation's most powerful Supreme
Court justice during his run in the 1800s.” —Houston Chronicle
“In his engrossing biography of John Marshall, the fourth chief
justice of the United States, Paul... makes a compelling case for
Marshall’s enduring impact on the Constitution. With the verve that
distinguished his previous book, [Unlikely Allies,]... Paul deftly
evokes Marshall as a leader who imagined a dynamic interpretation
of the Constitution.” —The National Book Review
“This very human story should be of great interest to almost all
readers. Well written and drawing on rich primary
sources, Without Precedent lives up to its title and will
be an excellent addition to American-history collections.”
—Booklist
“This masterly work elucidates the indelible imprint that Marshall
made on the U.S. Constitution and its subsequent interpretation.”
—Library Journal
“An examination of the life and work of John Marshall masterfully
put into the context of his times. The echoes of his decisions as
chief justice still reverberate in our era.” —San Francisco
Chronicle
“Joel Richard Paul capably draws the reader into the factual and
legal complexities involved in dozens of court cases without
resorting to legalese… This comprehensive and insightful biography
is mostly homage to this often-overlooked founder of our nation.
But Paul does not ignore Marshall’s ‘blind spots’, his occasional
faulty reasoning or compromised ethics. As a biographer, Paul
exceptionally balances Marshall’s character development with his
historic achievements in a very human story.” —The Missourian
“Paul capably frames the facts and the importance of the issues, as
well as Marshall's big picture thinking about the outcome. … This
biography lives up to its title in that it provides the reader with
a clear picture of who John Marshall was, how he grew as a leader
and as a jurist, in a time when his nation was going through some
growing pains of its own.” —Potus Geeks
“A highly entertaining and educational biography that should be on
a lawyer’s reading list.” —Iowa Lawyer Magazine
“Anyone interested in the law and our country’s Founders will find
this book revealing and enjoyable.” —Jill Abramson, former
Executive Editor of The New York Times and co-author of Strange
Justice
“You don't have to be a constitutional law scholar to enjoy this
lively, wonderfully engaging account of the life and times of Chief
Justice John Marshall.” —William Taubman, Pulitzer Prize-winning
author of Khrushchev: The Man and his Era and Gorbachev: His Life
and Times
"Joel Richard Paul has written a fascinating and deeply
authoritative biography of one of the most overlooked but important
members of the founding generation. John Marshall was a lawyer,
justice, and statesman, who as much as anyone else helped shape the
nation's court system and left a lasting imprint on our legal
principles—and much more. Here, in Without Precedent, Marshall gets
the attention he so justly deserves." —Jay Winik, author of The
Great Upheaval and 1944
“I would have predicted that there was nothing worth saying about
John Marshall that hadn’t already been said. I would’ve been so
wrong. In every chapter of this page-turning account of Marshall’s
pivotal place in our nation’s history, even the expert will learn
something new. How did Joel Paul figure out, for instance, that the
great Chief Justice probably suborned perjury on his brother’s part
during the bizarre Marbury v. Madison trial? You owe it to yourself
to read Joel Paul’s terrific book to find out.” —Laurence H. Tribe,
Carl M. Loeb University Professor and Professor of Constitutional
Law, Harvard Law School
“Who was John Marshall, really? Thousands meet him
anew each year solely through his published opinions. But
finally, Joel Richard Paul gives us this captivating,
indispensable account, painting a fascinating picture of the
frontiersman, soldier, illusionist, strategist, diplomat and
international lawyer who became not just the man behind
Marbury, but so much more.” —Harold Hongju Koh, Sterling Professor
of International Law at Yale Law School
“Joel Richard Paul offers an engaging study of Marshall, both the
man and the jurist... Anyone interested in the American founding
and the man who, perhaps more than any other, guided the republic
through its most formative years, will appreciate this book.”
—Law360
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