Supreme Conflict by Jan Greenburg (Wilde Cafe)

It was a dark and stormy night and ... oops!  Well it was kind of cool and rainy, but the storms mostly missed the Twin Cities.  The Wilde Cafe proved itself not quite ready for prime time.  The kitchen did ok, but the rest of the staff seemed like they were on their first day of employment.  We proceeded to have a good time anyway. 

Our discussion focussed a lot on politics and the book, which was a journalist's account of the failure of the right to "swing" the Supreme Court through presidential appointment after appointment in the Reagan/Bush/Clinton/Bush era.  Relying mostly on behind the scenes anecdotes, press accounts, and memoirs, the book blames Justices Souter and O'Connor for lacking clear "judicial philosophies" and thus derailing the hopes of conservative presidents and their advisors. The book was an easy, entertaining read, but some of us would have liked a more systematic analysis.

The next book is Anthony Bourdain, Kitchen Confidential.  Other titles considered were Orhan Pamuk, Snow, and Leonard Mlodinow, The Drunkard's Walk.  A couple of people had already read Bourdain, so it was suggested that an alternative would be Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt, How Democracies Die.

The next meeting will be on Tuesday, September 25.  Paul is on deck to suggest the following book.

Dirty Doc Ames by Erik Rivenes (Octo Fish Bar)

For the first time, we had the author of our monthly book selection grace us with his presence at dinner this time.  Erik described his reasons for choosing the book's subject (nobody had written about this colorful character) and how he went about doing the research (lots of time in the library reading microfilmed newspapers).  The book itself was a fascinating look inside the messy and corrupt political system that ruled Minneapolis at the turn of the 20th century.  Erik's account brought the whole unsavory cast of characters to life.  Mostly featuring seafood, the restaurant was more than adequate and the ambiance was suitable for a book club.

Jim had to miss the gathering but he gave us several book possibilities for next time: Linda Greehhouse, Becoming Justice Blackmun; Linda Greenhouse and Michael Graetz, The Burger Court and the Rise of the Judicial Right; Noah Feldman, Scorpion: The Battles and Triumphs of FDR's Great Supreme Court Justices; and Jan Greenburg, Supreme Conflict: The Inside Story of the Struggle for Control of the U. S. Supreme Court.  We chose to read the Greenburg book.

The next meeting will be Tuesday, August 28.  Phil will suggest the next book.