The Great Dissent: How Oliver Wendell Holmes Changed His Mind and Changed the History of Free Speech, by Thomas Healy
This book was good.
Do I enjoy reading about Constitutional Law? No. But this law book is very readable. Complex arguments are explained clearly by the author, and details of the lives of those involved make the story very interesting. You have the highly conservative Supreme Court Justice from New England who, through study and correspondence with more liberal and progressive friends, comes to see that “he was ignorant” in early cases involving free speech.
The late teens and early twenties was a time of real turmoil, with its own “Red scare” because of the Bolchevik Revolution, riots and strikes over labor issues, and protests about the U.S. involvement in WWI. There were several cases brought before the Supreme Court where the Justices had to decide under which conditions the First Amendment would apply. They wrestle with themes such as intent, war-time vs. peace- time speech, and the value of a “free market” of ideas.
You know that Oliver Wendell Holmes changes his mind from the title page, but it is the study of his correspondence, friendships, and the literature choices that influenced his opinion that makes this a fascinating read.