Wild Bill: The Legend and Life of William O. Douglas

While I cannot comment on the factual accuracy of the book, as questioned by other reviewers, I found "Wild Bill" to be a delightful read. The book purports to be a biography, but has the ease of a novel. This is a lengthy book, but one that can be picked-up and read off-and-on, when time allows. It paints a wonderful picture of the early years and life of Justice William O. Douglas who grew up in Washington state. Whether perfectly factual or not, the book is a fun read.

The author has done a good job researching the way a biographer should--he checks sources which some might find too tedious to dig out. So he has come up with information which shows that it is not wise to rely on autobiography for the facts in some csses. The legal analysis in regard to Douglas's work on the Court is not very profound, but I don't suppose most readers want the detail which a good law review would give to the very interesting work the Supreme Court did during Douglas' time on the bench. The unadmirable aspects of his personal life and character are set forth with devastating detail, though the author I think admires some of good work on the Court which his subject did. Anyone interested in the Supreme Court will find this book greatly absorbing, and anyone interested in the amazing events surrounding the selection of Truman as FDR's running mate in 1944 cannot omit reading this book--and looking at the photos! In this respect, if you have not read Choosing Truman: The Democratic Convention of 1944 by Robert H. Ferrell (read by me 17 May 2002) it might be wise to read it first, then read this book for new light on the events of July 1944. Reading this biography will be an event.

It seems obvious that a tremendous amount of work went into this biography and I feel that the results were absolutely worth that effort and thus I would recommend this book highly. And what do we learn about Justice Douglas? As a husband (four times over), he was terrible. As a parent, he was similarly terrible, enough so that his kids more or less disowned him, and rightfully so. As a boss (to his law clerks and secretaries), he was atrocious to work for. Indeed, looking at the "private Douglas", there is almost nothing admirable about the man. On the other hand, looking at "Justice Douglas", we see a hard-working, extremely bright man, whose views on the Amendments in the Bill of Rights (especially the First Amendment) made him the champion of the poor, the dispossed, the repressed and the oppressed. Moreover, with the benefit of hindsight, I would say that most of his liberal leaning opinions (whether in the majority or in dissent) have held up well over the years, especially in the First Amendment area. Of course, one might conclude that certain issues he had to deal with, particularly on the race front (say, whether a poll tax in the South was constitutional) were less tricky than issues we confront today such as reverse discrimination under the guise of diversity (such as the U. of Michigan Law School case currently awaiting decision by the Spreme Court). It is interesting to note however that in one of his last cases on the bench in 1974, he indicated that he had no tolerance any kind of quotas, even if dressed up in the lingo of diversity. On a more general note, I would say that writing a biography of a judge is in some ways more challenging than writing the biography of other famous people from other professions like, say, entertainers, athletes, performers or even politicians. For those kinds of subjects, when they "doing their profession", whether for better of worse, the public is watching and, more importantly, reacting. Thus, one can compare the actions of the subject with the response of the public, whether the subject is on the way up or on the way down. However, with a judge, even an influential Justice like Douglas, when he is doing his job, he is simply writing opinions. While it is interesting to see what those opinions are (particularly if a juducial philosophy changes over time as Douglas' clearly did), to summarize or recite all those opinions may not, in the hands of the wrong person, make for such a fascinating biography. However I feel that Murphy did a masterly job.

Bruce Allen Murphy's biography of William O. Douglas is not only groundbreaking, it is a truly amazing effort. It is a surprisingly easy read--in fact I found it hard to put down. He tells us in his author's note that he spent 15 years researching this work, and his careful efforts show. He talked to people who knew Douglas well, dug through newspapers from his subject's childhood homes, went through diaries and photo albums from Douglas's friends and acquaintances, and has told us the true story of Douglas's life. Not many of us could be as accurate about our own lives as Murphy is about Douglas's. We tend to gloss over the parts of our lives that we wish were different. Douglas, however, did more than that. He invented a life that was the way he wanted the world to see him, and made it public through his autobiographies. Murphy has discovered the person beneath the myth that Douglas had build up about himself, and explains the reasons for Douglas's tall tales. It is high time we stop thinking of our Supreme Court justices as gods on Olympus, and realized that they are just as human as the rest of us. To understand Douglas's need to make his public image different than his real life is to understand the man--not just the judge. This book is not just a really compelling biography, however. It is a fascinating history of 20th century American politics. It reminds us of where we have been, the struggles that we have survived for equality, freedom, and the environment. It also serves as a lesson for the future. Douglas foresaw many issues that are important to us today.Murphy's book is as brilliant as his subject was prescient. It gives us some important lessons as well as being a highly entertaining read. MOST HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!!!

This large, but extremely readable biography of one of the 20th Century's most colorful figures is an amazing story! Before I read "Wild Bill", I was aware of the legend of Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas--his liberal activism, support of the environment, and, of course, his four wives. But, when I read the book, which is based on wonderfully detailed research, and written more like a novel than an academic work, I was amazed at what I learned about the man himself. I wasn't surprised that there was more womanizing going on than the contemporary press had revealed. What I found particularly interesting, though, was how such a famous and apparently successful public figure felt he had to embellish his personal history for public consumption. For example, who would have questioned the veracity of a Supreme Court Justice when he told us that he suffered from polio as a small child, or served in Europe during World War I? Bruce Allen Murphy did--and his book not only gives us the true facts of William O. Douglas's life, but helps us understand what drove him to exaggerate his life story, and why he remained unfulfilled despite his many accomplishments. For those of us who want to know how he discovered these hidden truths, Murphy provides copious and detailed endnotes, but none of that intrudes on the more casual reader. One need not be a Court follower to enjoy this amazing story--just one who enjoys understanding the all-too-human insecurities and foibles of even the most famous among us. If you like Caro, Morris or McCullough, you will not want to miss this book!