My Grandfather's Son: A Memoir | Clarence Thomas | A book everyone should read instead of...

My Grandfather's Son: A Memoir | Clarence Thomas | A Great Read On A Fascinating Man!

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My Grandfather's S...

	My Grandfather's Son: A Memoir Clarence Thomas Harper, 2007 - 304 pages average customer review:based on 304 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

A book everyone should read instead of accepting the distorted media image of Justice Thomas

This is one of those books that I think everyone ought to read. The media has worked very hard to provide is preferred view of Clarence Thomas and it is a very distorted picture. In this memoir, Justice Thomas presents his life as he lived it, with his successes, failures, mistakes, difficulties, accomplishments, despair, and joy.

He writes movingly about his youth and being completely abandoned after conception by his father and barely attended to by his mother. He and his brother really only found their footing when they went to live with his Grandfather, whom they called Daddy, and his wife, whom they called Aunt Tina. Daddy was very strict with the boys. He worked very hard and worked the boys very hard. He made sure his grandsons had the best education they could scrape together. Clarence preferred the more rural life with Daddy where they had good healthy fresh food and a clean place to live.

Certainly, they were aware of racism, but it didn't hit Clarence hard until college. There it became personal and it changed him. It was in college that Thomas became a radical and took on the leftist black militancy that was so popular in those years. It allowed him to vent his rage and feel empowered, but it wasn't too many years before he saw how empty it was. At Yale Law School he saw how crippling the liberal condescension was to those admitted under racial preferences standards. When they graduated with a degree from Yale Law, which should have opened doors to top jobs, those hiring discounted any achievements of the minority graduates, assuming they were not the same as the achievements of the non-minority graduates. This was a bitter wake-up call for Thomas and hardened his views about the harm preferences do to minorities. He states that the lower standards sap the motivation of those competing for slots to prepare because it inculcates a sense of entitlement. And it cheats those who make spectacular achievements by causing them to viewed as somehow not being accomplished using the same measures.

Once he started sharing these views, he also found out about the prejudice of those who expect all African-Americans to hold to the same views on race relations and programs that propose to alleviate it. In time, he went to work for John Danforth when he was attorney general of Missouri and they remained close ever since. Thomas went to work as a corporate attorney for Monsanto, but found it stifling and returned to work for Danforth in the Seantor's office. He left that office to work in the Civil Rights department of the Department of Education. In 1982 he was appointed to be the Chairmen of the EEOC. Thomas says he wasn't interested in the job, but his friends told him it was time to stop talking about his views on improving the lives of blacks and to do something about it. Thomas is frank about his differences in views with the Reagan administration and what he believes they did wrong to aggravate both their opponents and those who wanted to support them, but found it difficult.

President George H.W. Bush appointed him to be a Federal Judge and, obviously, nominated him for the Supreme Court. The last portion of the book recounts the nomination process as he experienced it. Along the way, we learn the truth about how Anita Hill came to work in his office and the nature of her work there. We also learn about their completely non-personal relationship, when and how she left for Oral Roberts University and the secret and surprise nature of her testimony to try to stop his nomination in the Senate. His writing on the personal agony of this process is quite moving. It is also important to remember why, at the time, the public believed Thomas rather than Hill. Of course, the liberal media has worked ever since to reverse that understanding so that nowadays it is a commonplace that Hill told the truth, when clearly she did not and even those she listed as confirming witnesses did not corroborate her story.

Thomas is also very frank about his personal difficulties. He talks about his first marriage and his sense of guilt over its failure. The difficulties he had with drinking, with his personal finances, and his complex relationship with Daddy are quite moving. I suspect that his openness about these personal difficulties will mean more to regular folks of all races than Thomas believes. Another important aspect of this book is how he shares his spiritual journey from youthful faith, to the young adult rejection of spiritual matters to the refiner's fire that brought him back to Christ. His devotion to his son from his first marriage, Jamal, is also inspiring. Few of us can claim to be perfect parents, but Thomas was certainly devoted to seeing his son well-educated and trying to be the best father his personal limitations would allow him to be. The strength and love he shares with his wife, Virginia, is heartwarming and the strength she supplied during the crucible of the nominating process was vital.

I hope you read this book. You will get to know Justice Thomas instead of knowing him through the distorting lenses of the popular media. Might I suggest it for reading material during Black History Month?

Reviewed by Craig Matteson, Ann Arbor, MI

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A Great Read On A Fascinating Man!

Despite what you may think of Justice Clarence Thomas, "My Grandfather's Son" is an entertaining read of what is truly great in America - person rising from the helplessness of poverty and persecution of racism and through hard work and help from others, ascends to a position of great prominence and service.

I wonder about the 1 and 2-star ratings - did these folks really read the book? While I am a fan of Justice Thomas, I would be honest if I thought his book was self-serving (trying to vindicate himself from Anita Hill's charges). Quite the contrary, Justice Thomas spends much, much more time in the book describing his struggles growing up in the racist deep South, relationship with his grandparents, career struggles and challenges, and trying to find his niche in society.

Among the topics covered in the book include:

1. Growing up in the racist deep South in Savannah, Georgia.
2. Time at seminary and Holy Cross and his encounters with racists at both schools.
3. Time as a lawyer with Monsanto.
4. Challenges as the leader of the EEOC during the Reagan Administration.
5. Personal life (father leaving the family while Thomas was a young boy, his mother bringing to his grandparents to be raised by them, drinking problem that he eventually overcame, failed first marriage and successful second marriage, etc.).
6. Supreme Court nomination and confirmation hearings (or "grillings" if you will), and eventual vote.
7. His thoughts on various Republican and Democratic presidents, senators, and other figures.

While others detest Justice Thomas, I came away with a greater admiration for a man whol was not afraid to pay the price to stand for what he thought was right. May his days on the Supreme Court last a long, long time!

In my humble opinion, despite what you think of Justice Thomas, "My Grandfather's Son" is a great read. Highly recommended!

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Excellent book

Excellent book. It is well-written and provides a fascinating overview of the life of Justice Thomas. I highly recommend it. I found it so interesting that I finished it in just 2 days.

Only in America

Truly inspiring.

Spending time in Savannah during the late '70's, I remember much of those times.

I also remember the media circus around the Thomas hearings and how the liberal slave masters all combined to destroy this good man's reputation. Had it not been for a legacy of hard work, sheer determination, and a deep faith in God, they may have succeeded.

Thank you, Justice Thomas, for giving this great gift, and proving that in America anyone can still find 'room at the top'.

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Here is a down-to earth person that I can really relate to.

Recently, I received a copy of "My Grandfather's Son" as a gift. While I might have gotten around to reading this book eventually I had no immediate plans to do so. I had not given the book much thought so I really had no idea what to expect. What I discovered in "My Grandfather's Son" is that Clarence Thomas is a person of depth and intellect and principle. Frankly, he is not at all like the individual who has been the object of much scorn and ridicule in the media for all these many years. Yes, the story Clarence Thomas tells in his own words proves to be a real eye-opener.
Clarence Thomas grew up in the tiny town of Pinpoint, GA and as the title suggests he was raised by his grandparents. Clarence's grandfather, whom he lovingly referred to as "Daddy", would prove to be a major influence in the young man's life. "Daddy" was quite strict and taught the young Clarence Thomas to be self-reliant and to think for himself. "Daddy" was a devout Catholic and made the necessary sacrifices to send Clarence to Catholic schools where the good nuns reinforced the lessons Clarence had learned at home. As a teenager Clarence Thomas sensed a calling to the priesthood and actually entered the seminary for a couple of years. Once he decided that the priesthood was not for him Thomas would enroll at Holy Cross in Worcester, MA. and went on to Yale Law School. In "My Grandfather's Son", Clarence Thomas enumerates all of the twists and turns his life would take during his college years. Why he even dabbled in the politics of the radical left! While at Yale he would meet and marry his first wife Kathy and they would have a son Jamal. Attempting to balance all of these responsibilities would prove to be quite challenging for Clarence and he discusses his struggles in some depth in the book.
"My Grandfather's Son' goes on to trace Clarence Thomas' career path from his days with Monsanto to his stints at the Department of Education and as Chairman of the EEOC to his unlikely nomination as an Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. So many twists and turns and so much struggle! You cannot help but be impressed by the painful honesty as Thomas discusses his foibles and failures, his joys and his regrets. It is compelling reading for sure. Finally, Clarence Thomas discusses in riveting detail his nomination to the Supreme Court by President George H.W. Bush and the subsequent circus that was his confirmation hearing. One wonders how he had the fortitude to endure it all.
What one will discover in "My Grandfather's Son" is that Clarence Thomas is a brilliant individual and a man of deep faith. Clarence Thomas is a principled individual who at the end of the day really did not care whether or not he ever was confirmed as a Supreme Court justice. He has endured the slings and arrows of his critics for more nearly two decades now and his dedication to his core beliefs remains unchanged. I came away from this book very impressed with the man. He is an individual that I admire and someone I can relate to. One wonders if any of his critics would have the gumption to reveal so much of themselves in a similar memoir or could withstand the scutiny of the kind of scurrilous investigation that was launched against him. "My Grandfather's Son" is a well written book that held my interest from cover-to-cover. Highly recommended!

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