258:. One of his reasons for moving was the racism he had encountered as a child, and his belief that in the North he would be freed from that. Once there, he found Massachusetts to be plagued with latent racism and far from the utopia he had anticipated. Thomas excelled academically and socially at Holy Cross, graduating with honors and marrying his long-term girlfriend Kathy Ambush shortly after. He also began drinking steadily, a problem that would haunt him in later years. Thomas attended
213:. The early parts of the book are dominated by the impact his grandfather had on him, while sections describing his adulthood up to his Supreme Court appointment focus on overcoming personal demons without describing too much about his career. Following his confirmation to the Court, Thomas centers his writing on professional, ideological and judicial issues. The themes of race and self-reliance run throughout, and many issues are framed through one or both of those lenses.
431:, writing on the Anita Hill allegations, says that "And as to Anita Hill, Thomas' case makes it hard to believe her. However, Hill's book makes it equally hard to believe him. I've met both and I find it hard to imagine either of them doing what the other has charged - the debate will continue". He concludes:
435:
Given what he went through with his confirmation hearings, it's understandable that Thomas would be wary of sharing of too much of himself. This means that to truly get the measure of the man, reading "My
Grandfather's Son" can only take us so far. However, does Thomas succeed in trying to revise the
346:
Around this point, Thomas describes himself regaining control of his life. In 1983, he quit drinking cold-turkey. In 1984, Thomas divorced his first wife; however his son moved in with him, which calmed Thomas's fears of abandoning his child as his father had left him. In 1987, he married his second
173:. Although the memoir offers little of Thomas's emotional distress over divorcing his first wife, it expounds on his intellectual evolution to conservatism, and the financial troubles that plagued him up through the late 1980s. It also includes a confession about his previously unknown struggle with
448:
Thomas’s book is at times inspiring, sad, yet ultimately triumphant. He had a very fractured relationship with the grandfather who raised him. Not until his grandfather’s death, did he ultimately appreciate the lessons, love, and discipline Myers
Anderson taught him. It’s by only reading this book
183:
was praised for its frank tone and well-written style. However, it was also criticized as being too partisan for a sitting
Supreme Court Justice and for over-emphasizing claims of victimhood. Much of the media attention centered on his chapters on the confirmation hearings, one of which was titled
342:
Throughout most of this period Thomas was still estranged from his grandfather, and describes being haunted by the memory of
Anderson kicking him out of the house. The two reunited briefly in 1983 when his step-grandmother was in the hospital, having a meaningful conversation and embracing at the
333:
The main focus, however, is on Thomas's financial and emotional struggles. Although he says he was never an alcoholic, Thomas says that in the late 1970s and early 1980s his drinking became worse, and that he often drank while home alone. These confessions were the first time there had been any
246:
throughout his childhood, wanted to be a priest and was one of only two black students at the school. Upon graduating, he began studying to be a priest, but gave up at the age of 19 because he was disappointed with the church's stance on racism. As a result of Thomas dropping out of school, his
338:
and subsisting on low government salaries, Thomas had a difficult time financially, almost getting evicted from his apartment several times. In one incident, a car rental agent cut up Thomas's credit card in front of him. After falling out of love with his first wife, Thomas worried about the
168:
and his mother's decision to send him and his brother to be raised by her father and stepmother as she felt unable to care for them. He tells of his upbringing by his grandparents, his time in college and law school, and his career in government. Particular attention is focused on his
410:(which, Grimes writes, made him an 'object of contempt and derision for mainstream civil rights organizations") as "adopting a defensive crouch, lashing out at his enemies, reopening old wounds and itemizing insults that should be forgotten." Grimes describes Thomas' treatment of the
228:
in 1948 to Leola
Anderson Thomas, a maid who earned $ 10 a week. Thomas's father, M.C. Thomas, abandoned the family when Thomas was a toddler. In first grade his mother sent him and his younger brother to live with his maternal grandfather, Myers Anderson, and his wife Christine in
27:
379:
goes through the hearings day by day, with Thomas defending himself against his accusers and criticizing their motives. Thomas says he learned of the accusations of sexual harassment by Hill over the weekend after the first five days of the hearings when a pair of
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business and kept a strict household. Thomas struggled with racism and segregation throughout his childhood. He attended all black schools until the 10th grade, when
Anderson paid for Thomas to attend a
323:
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asked him he felt obliged to accept. When the hearings began on
September 1, 1991, Thomas expected them to center on race and claims to have had no advance information about
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is spent discussing Thomas's nomination and confirmation to the
Supreme Court. Thomas says he was initially reluctant to become a Justice, but that when President
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singled out by the liberal establishment, at the behest of his civil rights enemies, not just for criticism but also for total annihilation."
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end. The newfound closeness was short-lived, and
Anderson died the next month of a stroke before Thomas had another chance to see him.
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The book spans all of Thomas's life to the present, beginning with his early childhood in the
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continues to follow Thomas's career, including a stint at the legal department of
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graduate and
Supreme Court Justice so much about life, and yes even conservatism.
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841:"Clarence Thomas: A Silent Justice Speaks Out. Part VII: My Grandfather's Son"
758:"Clarence Thomas: A Silent Justice Speaks Out. Part III: My Grandfather's Son"
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816:"Clarence Thomas: A Silent Justice Speaks Out. Part VI: My Grandfather's Son"
729:"Clarence Thomas: A Silent Justice Speaks Out. Part II: My Grandfather's Son"
530:"Clarence Thomas: A Silent Justice Speaks Out. Part IV: My Grandfather's Son"
787:"Clarence Thomas: A Silent Justice Speaks Out. Part V: My Grandfather's Son"
700:"Clarence Thomas: A Silent Justice Speaks Out. Part I: My Grandfather's Son"
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Danforth. Throughout this period Thomas made an intellectual journey from
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233:. Anderson, who Thomas and his brother came to call "Daddy", ran a small
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will you understand how somebody with a third grade education taught a
270:
146:
635:"My Grandfather's Son: A Memoir By Clarence Thomas Book Description"
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to conservative, culminating in changing his party registration to
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public suggestion that Thomas was a heavy drinker. Burdened by
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Assistant Secretary of Education for the Office of Civil Rights
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Books written by justices of the United States Supreme Court
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affair as a portrayal of "himself as a persecuted, almost
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and his 1979 move to Washington, D.C. to work for then-
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accepted vision of him for the better? Pretty much.
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488:"The Justice Looks Back and Settles Old Scores"
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839:Jan Crawford Greenberg (September 30, 2007).
814:Jan Crawford Greenberg (September 30, 2007).
785:Jan Crawford Greenberg (September 30, 2007).
756:Jan Crawford Greenberg (September 30, 2007).
727:Jan Crawford Greenberg (September 30, 2007).
698:Jan Crawford Greenberg (September 30, 2007).
528:Jan Crawford Greenburg (September 30, 2007).
326:, and in 1982 he was promoted to head of the
209:Thomas describes his life chronologically in
8:
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866:"Clarence Thomas Takes a Chance on Memoir"
440:Ray Nothstine, in his book review for the
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404:Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
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224:begins with Thomas's birth in rural
891:"Book Review: My Grandfather's Son"
486:William Grimes (October 10, 2007).
359:Supreme Court confirmation and term
171:Supreme Court confirmation hearings
864:McWhorter, John (4 October 2007).
607:Dwight Garner (October 21, 2007).
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889:Nothstine, Ray (5 January 2009).
637:. Harper Collins. October 1, 2007
971:African-American autobiographies
550:Kevin Merida (October 1, 2007).
314:in 1980. In 1981 he joined the
20:My Grandfather's Son: A Memoir
948:I Am America (And So Can You!)
580:Frank Rich (October 7, 2007).
142:My Grandfather's Son: A Memoir
16:2007 memoir of Clarence Thomas
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256:The College of the Holy Cross
280:assistant district attorney
159:United States Supreme Court
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242:. Thomas, who had been an
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895:Acton Institute PowerBlog
552:"To Cite a 'Mockingbird'"
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363:Approximately a third of
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217:Early life and education
392:William Grimes, in his
320:Department of Education
976:2007 non-fiction books
609:"TBR: Inside the List"
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262:, graduating in 1974.
918:The Age of Turbulence
316:Reagan Administration
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661:(October 15, 2007).
377:My Grandfather's Son
365:My Grandfather's Son
296:My Grandfather's Son
222:My Grandfather's Son
211:My Grandfather's Son
181:My Grandfather's Son
108:(1st ed., hardcover)
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556:The Washington Post
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614:The New York Times
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399:The New York Times
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134:KF8745.T48 A3 2007
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934:Best Seller
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308:libertarian
196:best-seller
965:Categories
900:2022-06-28
875:2022-06-28
847:2008-08-03
843:. ABC News
822:2008-08-03
818:. ABC News
793:2008-08-03
789:. ABC News
764:2008-08-02
760:. ABC News
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532:. ABC News
499:2008-08-02
458:References
412:Anita Hill
373:Anita Hill
312:Republican
254:to attend
166:Deep South
421:Linguist
388:Reception
244:altar boy
121:166295089
86:Audiobook
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288:Missouri
235:fuel oil
231:Savannah
186:Lynching
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286:, then
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347:wife,
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56:Harper
34:Author
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