This book investigates how Thurgood Marshall’s judicial philosophy and personal influence shaped American constitutional law during his tenure on the Supreme Court. Mark Tushnet, a legal scholar and expert on constitutional history, utilizes primary source materials from the Supreme Court archives to reconstruct Marshall’s decision-making process. The work examines how Marshall navigated the shifting political landscape of the United States between 1961 and 1991, specifically focusing on his role as the first African-American Justice. Tushnet argues that Marshall’s impact was defined by his consistent advocacy for civil rights and his resistance to the rising tide of judicial conservatism.

Legal scholars and historians frequently cite this work as a definitive account of Marshall’s judicial career. Readers often note the academic density of the prose, which provides a rigorous examination of the Court's internal operations during a transformative era in American law.