As I mentioned in late April, at the invitation of the Scalia family, Christopher J. Scalia (son of Justice and Mrs. Scalia) and I have been reviewing and selecting Justice Scalia’s best speeches for publication in a single-volume collection. I am very pleased to pass along that, as announced earlier today on the Corner, Crown Forum has arranged with the Scalia family to publish Scalia Speaks: Reflections on Law, Faith, and Life Well Lived. Even better, Scalia Speaks will be available very soon — on October 3, the Tuesday after the next Supreme Court term opens.
Scalia Speaks is designed for a general audience and is replete with Justice Scalia’s characteristic wisdom, clarity, and humor. There are a lot of great speeches on legal topics, all readily accessible to the non-lawyer. As the subtitle suggests, we’ve included many speeches on other topics: for example, faith, character, tradition, ethnicity, education, turkey hunting, and even the games and sports that a young Nino Scalia played on the streets of Queens in the 1940s. The book also features several of the Justice’s moving, and often funny, tributes to friends.
Only a small handful of the dozens of speeches in the book have ever been published before.
My hopeful expectation is that a very broad swath of readers will find the book a delight — a joy to read and a great gift for family, friends, and colleagues. Here’s a take from one non-lawyer who reviewed the manuscript:
Skimming through the speeches is like being bathed in a world of goodness, truth, and beauty. The humor, generosity, friendship, and love that shines from them is a balm in what is too often an ugly world.
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg — dear friend to Justice and Mrs. Scalia and subject of one of the Justice’s tributes — has generously volunteered a wonderful foreword, and Chris Scalia has written a poignant introduction.
Pre-order the book now. You’ll be very glad you did.