David A. Kaplan

Taking us inside the secret world of the Supreme Court, [this book] is an incisive look at how the justices undermine the rule of the other branches of government--and how we've come to accept it at our peril. Never before has the Supreme Court been more central in American life. It is the nine justices who too often now decide the controversial issues of our time--from abortion and same-sex marriage to gun control, campaign finance, and voting rights. The Court is so crucial that many voters in 2016 made their choice for president based on whom they thought their candidate would name to the Court. Donald Trump picked Neil Gorsuch--the key decision of his new administration. The next justice--replacing Anthony Kennedy--will be even more important, holding the swing vote over so much social policy. Is that really how democracy is supposed to work? Based on exclusive interviews with the justices and dozens of their law clerks, prize-winning legal journalist David A. Kaplan provides fresh details about life behind the scenes at the Court--Clarence Thomas's simmering rage, Antonin Scalia's death, Ruth Bader Ginsburg"s celebrity, Breyer Bingo, the petty feuding between Gorsuch and the chief justice, and what John Roberts thinks about his critics. In the bestselling tradition of The Nine and The Brethren, Kaplan presents a sweeping narrative of the justices' aggrandizement of power over the decades--from Roe v. Wade to Bush v. Gore to Citizens United to the rulings of the 2017-18 term. But the arrogance of the Court isn't partisan: Conservative and liberal justices alike are guilty of overreach. Challenging conventional wisdom about the Court's transcendent power, [this book] is sure to rile both sides of the political aisle."--Dust jacket.

Inside the Supreme Court in the Age of Trump

The Most Dangerous Branch

In "the best book to date on the subject" (San Francisco Chronicle), prize-winning journalist David A. Kaplan brings to life the culture and history of Silicon Valley. The symbol of high-tech genius and ineffable wealth, a place that competes with Hollywood and Washington in the zeitgeist of success and excess, the Valley is the epicenter of the New Economy. Depending on yesterday's stock market close, roughly a quartermillion Siliconillionaires live in the Valley. And they're building megalo-mansions and buying Lamborghinis as fast as they can. Combining reportorial insight and biting wit, The Silicon Boys tells the unforgettable story of dreams and greed, ambition and luck, that has become the Valley of the Dollars.

And Their Valley of Dreams

The Silicon Boys

Joel Clinton Peterson

Because you can't afford to lose it... Trust is the glue that holds an organization together. It turns deflection into transparency, suspicion into empowerment, and conflict into creativity. With it, a tiny company like John Deere grew into a worldwide leader. Without it, a giant corporation like Enron toppled. In The 10 Laws of Trust, JetBlue chairman Joel Peterson explores how a culture of trust gives companies an edge. Consider this: What does it feel like to work for a firm where leaders and colleagues trust one another? Freed from micromanagement and rivalry, every employee contributes his or her best. Risk taking and innovation become the norm. And, as Peterson notes, "When a company has a reputation for fair dealing, its costs drop: Trust cuts the time spent second-guessing and lawyering." In clear, engaging prose, highlighted by compelling examples, Peterson details how to establish and maintain a culture of trust. Steps include: Start with integrity * Invest in respect * Empower everyone * Require accountability * Create a winning vision * Keep everyone informed * Budget in line with expectations * Embrace conflict * Forget "you" to become an effective leader * And more With this book in hand, you'll be able to plant the seeds of trust-and reap the rewards of reputation, profits, and success.

Building the Bonds That Make Or Break a Business

The 10 Laws of Trust

"In a richly reported, behind-the-scenes portrait of the Supreme Court and the secret world of its nine justices, veteran national journalist David A. Kaplan shows how the Court, far from being the "least dangerous branch" of government, in the words of Alexander Hamilton, has become in many respects the most dangerous branch, subverting democracy and betraying the Constitution. Never before has the Supreme Court been more central to American politics. A sizable percentage of voters in the most recent presidential election chose a candidate based largely on who they thought Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump would nominate to replace the fiery Antonin Scalia. In the face of a dysfunctional and paralyzed Congress, it is the Court, rather than our elected officials, that decides such divisive issues as gerrymandering, abortion, gun rights, voting rights, same sex marriage, immigration, and campaign finance. In a sweeping narrative that examines the personalities and quirks of the Justices, The Most Dangerous Branch shows how, going as far back as Roe v Wade, the Court has re-shaped America's political and social landscape in key cases on the left and the right. As much as the Chief Justice claims to be only calling balls and strikes, in fact the Court has not hesitated to put its collective thumb on the scale of justice to swing the law in the majority's direction. As a result, nine nonelected life-tenured lawyers, trained at but two elite universities (Harvard and Yale) have taken it upon themselves to decide the fate and direction of the nation. Kaplan's book gets at the heart of who these Justices are, and uncovers their personal agendas -- including that of Neil Gorsuch, President Trump's impatient and quietly radical new appointee. And with the retirement of even a single justice, the Court could, under Trump and a filibuster-proof Senate, be transformed into a insurmountable conservative voting block that will reign even more supreme over America for a generation"--

inside the Supreme Court's assault on the Constitution

The most dangerous branch

For thirty-seven days after the disputed presidential election of 2000, we watched great theater, as George W Bush and Al Gore slugged it out in the swamp. You may think you've read it all before, but now Newsweek's David A. Kaplan goes behind the scenes of the sanctimony and machinations. In his critically acclaimed bestseller, The Silicon Boys, Kaplan took us inside Silicon Valley. In The Accidental President, he does the same for this epic moment in American history -- a harmonic convergence of politics and law, media and culture. With his mordant wit and incisive storytelling, Kaplan tells us how -- contrary to popular belief -- the Supreme Court's ruling for Bush was not a foregone conclusion and why the dissenting justices thought, until the last second, they could lure the one equivocating colleague they'd derisively nicknamed "Flipper." We're in the room when Gore decides that, more than any great lawyer, the one person he needs in Recountland is . . . Erin Brockovich. We learn which Bush partisan covertly marionetted the strings behind Katherine Harris. And we're treated to sketches of the characters they called Secret Squirrel and the Fine-Looking Man and of the political operative who jumped from a moving train. Through it all -- butterflies and boils; concessions, recantations, and fraternal recriminations; lawyers, more lawyers, and 181 invocations of the phrase "uncharted waters" -- Kaplan paints a picture of an extraordinary episode for the country. There are few heroes in this tale. No person or institution comes out looking very good. "Rule of law" simply meant trying to figure out a way around the law -- realpolitik by any other name. The outcome of Bush versus Gore was a colossal fortuity, an election gone bad, made worse by an inconceivable coincidence of accidents. A lucky tactical call here, a confusing ballot there -- amid all the folly and hypocrisy, these are what landed Bush in the White House. Different turns might have cast destiny the other way. Bush is our nation's first accidental president, just as Gore would have been. Bush may thrive or stumble in office. But either way, few will forget how he got there after November 7, 2000. This is the definitive story of those thirty-seven days and why they matter.

How 413 Lawyers, 9 Supreme Court Justices, and 5,963,110 Floridians (Give or Take a Few) Landed George W. Bush in the White House

The Accidental President

die digitale Traumfabrik und ihre Helden

Silicon Valley

As the dominant venture capitalist of Silicon Valley, Tom Perkins had seemingly done it all—from amassing a billion-dollar fortune to getting himself convicted of manslaughter in France. But his ultimate dream was to create the biggest, fastest, riskiest, highest-tech, most self-indulgent sailboat ever built. With keen storytelling and biting wit, bestselling author David A. Kaplan takes us inside the mind of an American genius and behind the scenes of an extraordinary venture: the birth of Perkins's $130 million marvel The Maltese Falcon. This modern clipper ship is as long as a football field and forty-two feet wide, with three rotating masts, each twenty stories high, and a bridge straight out of Star Trek. The riveting biography of a remarkable ship and the remarkable man who built it, Mine's Bigger is an unforgettable profile of ambition, hubris, audacity, and the imagination of a legendary entrepreneur.

The Extraordinary Tale of the World's Greatest Sailboat and the Silicon Valley Tycoon Who Built It

Mine's Bigger

The revealing story of the whiz kids who established some of the earliest and most successful computer companies in Silicon Valley.

David A. Kaplan

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