“Put aside partisanship, argues Sarah Isgur, in attempting to make sense of the Supreme Court. She offers an alternate framework in this intimate look at the untouchable nine. How do political labels actually translate to a legal context? How might we preserve the Court’s legitimacy? Isgur has all your answers in these smart, snappy, clear-eyed pages.”—Stacy Schiff, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Revolutionary: Samuel Adams
“The Supreme Court may seem as opaque as the justices’ black robes, but not in the hands of Sarah Isgur. This is a book for the rest of us—analytically brilliant and yet hugely entertaining, deeply respectful and also irreverent. Arcane legal arguments get recast here in delightfully plain and demystifying language. With legal principles challenged almost every day in America, the role of the Court has rarely been so scrutinized, making Last Branch Standing ever the more timely. Who would have thought that such a scrupulously fair account of such a serious institution could be so fun to read!”—Martha Raddatz, ABC News anchor and chief global affairs correspondent
“Sarah Isgur’s Last Branch Standing is as gripping and informative as her famed podcast, Advisory Opinions. Smart, incisive, nuanced, and funny, this book advocates for the Court—and does so with panache. Isgur succeeds where many others fall short because she illustrates how the Court is not made up of heroes and villains, but real people who do their level best in service of us all. If you want to learn about the Supreme Court—and have great fun along the way—this book is a must-read.”—Lisa Blatt, Chair, Williams & Connolly’s Supreme Court and Appellate practice; 55-time Supreme Court advocate
“Sarah Isgur does something truly remarkable: she manages to demystify the U.S. Supreme Court while maintaining her reverence for it. In Last Branch Standing, Isgur illuminates not just how the court actually works, but why partisans and court-bashers of the right and left so often fall for cartoonish explanations for court decisions. Like the author, Last Branch Standing is always smart and insightful, often surprising and fun, and not infrequently profound.”—Jonah Goldberg, editor-in-chief of The Dispatch, host of The Remnant podcast, and bestselling author of Suicide of the West
“Occasionally witty, yes. Actually, often witty. More important, often wise. In a word, winning. Before I dove into this volume, I thought I knew rather a lot about the Court and its justices. Now I know a ton more—and so will you if you are wise enough to open this book and start reading.”—Akhil Reed Amar, Sterling Professor of Law and Political Science, Yale University, and author of Born Equal
“Last Branch Standing is a strikingly illuminating introduction to the Supreme Court. Sarah Isgur humanizes the Justices, explains their work, and defends the Court’s integrity amid growing skepticism on both left and right. Last Branch Standing is the most accessible and engagingly written guide to the Court now available.”—Jack Goldsmith, Learned Hand Professor of Law, Harvard University
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