First things first. In reading other reviews of this book, I was surprised to see that most of the negative reviews were written on September 17, the day of publication. Are these all speed-readers who bought the book in the morning and wrote their reviews at night; or did these reviewers write their reviews from their political perspective without bothering to read the book? I was very pleased that Amazon timed the delivery of the book to me so that it arrived on the very day of publication. Now after a few days, I am ready to write a review.
The authors have stated that, after the explosive confirmation hearings, they wanted to investigate further Mr. Kavanaugh’s education, social circle, and evolution to add nuance and context to the story that the public already knew. They have done exactly that in this well-researched and well-written book.
They do not advocate any specific position for or against Mr. Kavanaugh. They give us background: information about his schools, his upbringing, and his circle of friends both in high school and at Yale. They review the accusations of sexual misconduct against him and what is known about the accusers. They leave it to the readers to decide whether to believe the accusations as credible and whether the sometimes-hazy recollections of events are believable.
They also give valuable information about the nomination and confirmation processes. It is clear that Mr. Kavanaugh’s privileged life gave him valuable friendships and connections in the legal and political world that helped him move up the legal chain and win the nomination to the Supreme Court over other worthy candidates.
While reporters Pogrebin and Kelly do not come to conclusions—they leave that to the reader—they suggest that his drinking and bad behavior were in the past and that for the last 35+ years he has been a mature and thoughtful person who seems to have been a model husband, father, and judge. The late Justice John Paul Stevens remarked during the confirmation battle that in fact Kavanaugh had been an excellent judge on the court.
While I agree for the most part with Pogrebin and Kelly, I have two nagging doubts about Kavanaugh’s qualifications to be on the Supreme Court. His rants during the nomination hearings caused me to think that temperamentally he was unfit for the Court, and Justice Stevens even made the same observation.
More disturbing is this: During an interview that the two authors gave in Washington, someone asked why they had not interviewed Kavanaugh himself. They stated that they attempted to negotiate an interview with him and even traveled to Washington before the negotiations were final because they were so close to the publication deadline. Kavanaugh set down a condition that he would only grant an interview if they wrote a line in the book stating that they had not interviewed him. They offered to say nothing in the book about the interview, but he insisted that they write in the book that they had not spoken with him. They refused to do this and went back to NYC without talking to him. Did I hear this right? Is this a sitting Supreme Court Justice asking them to mislead the public and publish a lie?
So, readers, read the book and come to your own conclusions. Justice Kavanaugh will likely be on the Court for a long time.
Barry Bem, Washington, DC, September 20, 2019
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