Eisenhower vs. Warren: The Battle for Civil Rights and Liberties - Hardcover

James F. Simon is dean emeritus at New York Law School. He is the author of nine books on American history, law, and politics, and has won the American Bar Association’s Silver Gavel Award. He lives in West Nyack, New York.

“Enjoyably readable, thoroughly researched.... An absorbing book about a saga in American law and politics that remains centrally important.”
- Lincoln Caplan, New York Times

“The most thorough and balanced assessment of the two men’s fraught relationship yet written.... Simon is the ideal scholar to undertake this study, having made a career of examining conflicts between the presidency and the Supreme Court. As we anticipate an existential clash between Donald Trump and the justices―if Trump attempts to fire Special Counsel Robert Mueller, for instance, or defies an obstruction-of-justice finding―Simon’s book is highly topical. It also has something to teach us about incremental versus rapid change. The fundamental disagreement it chronicles concerns the pace of social progress.”
- Michael O'Donnell, The Atlantic

“Illuminate[s] an often-overlooked period of legal history at the start of the civil rights movement. . . . Simon is in top form, creating sympathetic portraits of both protagonists, capturing the historical context of Eisenhower’s presidency, thoroughly explaining the dynamics of the Warren Court, and, when necessary, looking past Eisenhower’s and Warren’s professed positions to expose their underlying motives and goals. This balanced account of the bitter relationship between Eisenhower and Warren presents a new lens through which to view the start of the civil rights movement.”
- Publishers Weekly

“A vivid account....Gripping.”
- Michael Barone, Wall Street Journal

“Many Americans, especially white ones, think of the 1950s with gauzy nostalgia....[Eisenhower vs Warren] offer[s] important corrections to such sentimentalism.... Mr. Simon is an engaging storyteller.”
- The Economist

“A detailed, fine-grained study...As Simon skillfully demonstrates, Eisenhower was far from inert on the subject of racial reform... Warren, too, is written as intriguingly complicated.”
- Open Letters Review

“The two principals’ individuality, as well as their relationship to one another and to their associate justices, is skillfully and intelligently drawn. This is a cogently written book, especially given the complexity of many of the issues. Simon does great justice to an important segment of a critical period in American history.”
- Booklist

“Chief Justice Earl Warren was a bold moralist. President Dwight Eisenhower was a cautious pragmatist. Both men were, in their way and in their time, great leaders. With clear-eyed judiciousness and a subtle feel for the nuances of hard decision-making, James Simon has brought the compelling conflict between these two men to life.”
- Evan Thomas, author of Ike’s Bluff and Being Nixon

“A lively and accessible synthesis of the existing literature on Eisenhower's and Warren's careers, as well as an incisive analysis of their relationship. Once again James Simon shows his facility for illuminating pairings of celebrated historical figures.”
- G. Edward White, David and Mary Harrison Distinguished Professor of Law University of Virginia School of Law

“In Eisenhower v. Warren, James Simon offers a truly masterful telling of the complex relationship between two of the most influential and compelling figures in mid-twentieth century America. Exploring such fundamental issues as racial segregation and McCarthyism, Simon takes us beyond the scenes in the White House, the Congress, and the Supreme Court to reveal with extraordinary intimacy the conflicts, the compromises, and the sometimes shaped antagonisms that shaped one of the most pivotal periods in American history. Quite frankly, I couldn't put it down!”
- Geoffrey Stone, author of Sex and the Constitution