When Justice John Paul Stevens retired from the Supreme Court of the United States in 2010, he left a legacy of service unequaled in the history of the Court. During his 34-year tenure, Justice Stevens was a prolific writer, authoring more than 1000 opinions. Published just months before he died at the age of 99, Stevens's memoir abounds in stories of growing up in Great Depression-era Chicago, his work as a naval traffic analyst at Pearl Harbor during World War II, and his early days in private practice, but his book is above all an intimate and illuminating account of his service on the nation's highest court.

"Stevens's illumination of the court's internal processes, accounts of cases, and often caustic opinions of its results form an important contribution to legal literature."—Booklist