A uniquely American document, this first volume of William O. Douglas' two-volume autobiography covers the period from his boyhood in Washington State to his appointment to the U.S. Supreme Court in 1939. Justice Douglas tells what it was like to grow up fatherless and poor in Yakima, Washington, and how he overcame a childhood bout of polio; why he lelarned to identify with the underprivileged and to distrust people of wealth and position. He writes of his love of the land, of riding the rails and getting to know the hobos, workers, minorities, and radicals--experiences that were the basis for what developed into a now-famous political and judicial philosophy. Describing his friendship with Franklin Delano Roosevelt and his intimates in the New Deal, he gives us a vivid, behind-the-scenes picture of Washington politics during one of the most exciting periods in recent history.
adult
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