Supreme Discomfort: The Divided Soul of Clarence Thomas

There is no more powerful, detested, misunderstood African American in our public life than Clarence Thomas. Supreme Discomfort: The Divided Soul of Clarence Thomas is a haunting portrait of an isolated and complex man, savagely reviled by much of the black community, not entirely comfortable in white society, internally wounded by his passage from a broken family and rural poverty in Georgia, to elite educational institutions, to the pinnacle of judicial power. His staunchly conservative positions on crime, abortion, and, especially, affirmative action have exposed him to charges of heartlessness and hypocrisy, in that he is himself the product of a broken home who manifestly benefited from racially conscious admissions policies.

Supreme Discomfort is a superbly researched and reported work that features testimony from friends and foes alike who have never spoken in public about Thomas before--including a candid conversation with his fellow justice and ideological ally, Antonin Scalia. It offers a long-overdue window into a man who straddles two different worlds and is uneasy in both--and whose divided personality and conservative political philosophy will deeply influence American life for years to come.

Binding Type: Paperback
Publisher: Broadway Books
Published: 04/08/2008
ISBN: 9780767916363
Pages: 426
Weight: 1.00lbs
Size: 8.00h x 5.10w x 1.20d
Award: Black Caucus of the American Library Association Literary_award - Honor Book

Review Citations: New York Times Book Review 05/04/2008 pg. 24