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A guide to the US Supreme Court. It covers the Court's history; operations; power in relation to other branches of government; major decisions; and biographies of the justices. This edition includes decisions, changes, controversies, appointments and retirements through the July 1996 term.

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CHOICE Review

Congressional Quarterly has perfected the production of comprehensive, insightful, easy-to-read guides, and this set fits the mould nicely. The set has six parts, which together offer an overview of the history and functioning of the Supreme Court: "Origins and Development of the Court," "The Court and the Federal System," "The Court and the Individual," "Pressures on the Court," "The Court at Work," and "Members of the Court." In addition, there are two lengthy appendixes, "Chronology of Documents and Texts" and "Tables, Lists and Geographical Data," the latter providing lists of nominees, a glossary of legal terms, and related events pertaining to the Court. The volumes contain all sorts of facts and figures about the operations of the Court throughout its history, as well as summaries of its leading decisions and informative portraits of its justices. Its many essays are well written and amply documented. One nice feature is the discussion of "Sources of Supreme Court Decisions," which shows readers how to access major Court opinions using Internet and electronic bulletin board sources. The set's historical treatment is especially good. What the Guide does, it does well, but in light of the burgeoning literature, one wishes the editors had treated research that documents ideological cleavages among the justices, debates about various schools of constitutional interpretation, and summaries of findings about the impact of the Court on the larger political process and American society. An admirable set that should be of use to both professional researchers and novices. For all libraries. M. M. Feeley; University of California, Berkeley

Booklist Review

With its thematic approach, this set is generally the most analytical if the least convenient. More than half of the content is devoted to extensive discussions of the Court's decisions as they relate to the federal government and to individuals. The remainder provides detailed descriptions of the Court's history, organization, operation, traditions, and external pressures. The researcher must look up Lemon v. Kurtzman in the index, and then turn to the four or five references within the text. This resource is the most useful for those who want to study the case within a larger context. There is a sidebar on the Lemon test, which excerpts Justice Scalia's 1993 opinion comparing the test to a ghoul stalking the Court. (Reviewed September 1, 1999)