A chief justice's progress : John Marshall from Revolutionary Virginia to the Supreme Court /

Robarge has provided a valuable service by recounting John Marshall's biography up to the year he became chief justice of the US Supreme Court, 1801. As Robarge notes in his thoughtful prologue, there are several excellent biographies focusing on the long period of Marshall's chief justiceship (lasting until 1835), but there is no recent account of the earlier period (which took up nearly half his life). Robarge does a superb job. His book is based on detailed research into primary sources, and it takes note of all the relevant recent secondary historical work. The author thoroughly recounts Marshall's early legal career and his constant involvement in politics. The Marshall who emerges is a rather cautious, quiet, competent, and strong figure who is humanized by his long devotion to a frail and sickly wife. The only shortcoming of the study is the long final chapter, which reviews the 34 years of the chief justiceship in a manner that is superficial and not very helpful. Upper-division undergraduates and above. S. N. Katz; Princeton University