Paul provides a detailed examination of the life of John Marshall in this book. He notes “This is the story of the life and times of an exceptional man who mastered the art of self-invention and applied it to everything he did.”

Paul summarized Marshall’s time on the court as follows: “ For thirty-four years on the Supreme Court, Marshall resisted the centrifugal forces of regionalism and parochialism. He eschewed rigid ideology. His was a consistent voice for moderation, compromise, and pragmatism in the face of ideologues and adversaries. In an era without precedent, Marshall invented the legal principles that form the foundation of American constitutional and international law today. He defended the independence of the judiciary and the sanctity of property and contract. He jealously guarded the separation of powers. And he dared to imagine a dynamic interpretation of the Constitution that could accommodate the nation’s progress from a backward localized agrarian economy to a modern national industrial economy.”

One of the major themes of the book is comparing Marshall and Thomas Jefferson. They came from different backgrounds and political affiliation. The following is one such passage: “Until Jefferson’s passing, they lived as mirror opposites for half a century in almost every way. No Marshall biography can avoid taking sides in their conflicted relationship. That is not to say that Marshall was always right or that Jefferson was always wrong. Both were exceptional and entirely human. They were flawed, and sometimes they erred. Yet both Marshall and Jefferson were indispensable to the founding of the Republic.”

Marshall’s outlook on life was also shaped through war. He fought in the Revolutionary War including the winter at Valley Forge. He also saw the British capture Richmond and Charlottesville. Paul notes: “Death and destruction demonstrated to Marshall the essential fragility of the social contract. It was easy for Jefferson to write about revolution since he had never experienced war firsthand. Marshall’s military experience taught him to eschew facile ideologies and resort to violence. The elements of Marshall’s conservatism were now formed—a belief in ordered liberty and a respect for property, national defense, moderation, and the need for reconciliation.“

Paul picks some of the memorable Supreme Court cases that Marshall decided and analyzes them in detail including Marbury v Madison and Gibbons v Ogden.

Overall this is a thorough biography of the life of John Marshall. I rate it 3 out of 5 stars.