My Grandfather’s Son, A Memoir by Clarence Thomas; 2007; Harper, New York; 289 pages; 978-0-06-056555-8; 3/31-4/2

I felt the earth move as I read this book. I guess if you are not able to meet a person but want to know more about them, a autobiography would be one good way. I haven’t felt this moved by a book, any book, in quite a while. I had held a view of Justice Thomas as a ultra conservative, unfeeling jurist, however my view of him has changed through this accounting of his life. He covers the low points of his life, many of the mistakes that he has made and the triumphs in his life. I would have to agree with him that his Supreme Court confirmations had been a high tech lynching and that the shameless posturing of many of the members of the judical committee was awful. This is the story of a boy who was abandonded by his father, raised by his grandparents in poverty and bigotry in Georgia, who graduated from Yale Law School and worked his way up to the Supreme Court in spite of all manner of racial prejudice, overt and covert. This is a man who admits his faults, embraces those he loves and believes strongly in what he believes. He believes strongly because of what he has endured. He also traces a journey of faith, doubt and reborn faith as he stumbles through life. He believes in believing in one self and in the power of committed friends and associates. RRRR