Guide to the U. S. Supreme Court. 2 Volume Set. 3rd Edition.

No other reference on the U.S. Supreme Court offers so much detail and insight in so readable a format. This two-volume set is packed with all the information readers need from the Court's origins and how it functions, to the people who have shaped it and the impact of its decisions on American life.

Guide to the U.S. Supreme Court covers the Court's history; its operations; its power in relation to other branches of government; major decisions, and biographies of the justices. Decisions, changes, controversies, and appointments and retirements through the July 1996 term are placed in the context of the Court's history.

With its thematic approach, this set is generally the most analytical if the least convenient. More than half of the content is devoted to extensive discussions of the Court's decisions as they relate to the federal government and to individuals. The remainder provides detailed descriptions of the Court's history, organization, operation, traditions, and external pressures. The researcher must look up Lemon v. Kurtzman in the index, and then turn to the four or five references within the text. This resource is the most useful for those who want to study the case within a larger context. There is a sidebar on the Lemon test, which excerpts Justice Scalia's 1993 opinion comparing the test to a ghoul stalking the Court.