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The Rise of Sonia Sotomayor and the Politics of Justice
Sarah Crichton Books
October 2014
On Sale: October 7, 2014
288 pages
ISBN: 0374298742
EAN: 9780374298746
Kindle: B00J6TUZYM
Hardcover / e-Book
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Non-Fiction Political
"I knew sheβd be trouble." So quipped Antonin Scalia about Sonia Sotomayor at the Supreme Courtβs annual end-of-term party in 2010. Itβs usually the sort of event one would expect from such a grand institution, with gentle parodies of the justices performed by their law clerks, but this year Sotomayor decided to shake it upβflooding the room with salsa music and coaxing her fellow justices to dance. It was little surprise in 2009 that President Barack Obama nominated a Hispanic judge to replace the retiring justice David Souter. The fact that there had never been a nominee to the nationβs highest court from the nationβs fastest growing minority had long been apparent. So the time was ripeβbut how did it come to be Sonia Sotomayor? In Breaking In: The Rise of Sonia Sotomayor and the Politics of Justice, the veteran journalist Joan Biskupic answers that question. This is the story of how two forces providentially mergedβthe large ambitions of a talented Puerto Rican girl raised in the projects in the Bronx and the increasing political presence of Hispanics, from California to Texas, from Florida to the Northeastβresulting in a historical appointment. And this is not just a tale about breaking barriers as a Puerto Rican. Itβs about breaking barriers as a justice. Biskupic, the author of highly praised judicial biographies of Justice Antonin Scalia and Justice Sandra Day OβConnor, now pulls back the curtain on the Supreme Court nomination process, revealing the networks Sotomayor built and the skills she cultivated to go where no Hispanic has gone before. We see other potential candidates edged out along the way. And we see how, in challenging tradition and expanding our idea of a justice (as well as expanding her public persona), Sotomayor has created tension within and without the courtβs marble halls. As a Supreme Court justice, Sotomayor has shared her personal story to an unprecedented degree. And that storyβof a Latina who emerged from tough times in the projects not only to prevail but also to rise to the topβhas even become fabric for some of her most passionate comments on matters before the Court. But there is yet more to know about the rise of Sonia Sotomayor. Breaking In offers the larger, untold story of the woman who has been called "the peopleβs justice."
 Media BuzzPBS News Hour - October 17, 2014
Morning Edition - October 7, 2014
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