My grandfather's son : a memoir

324 Pages·2007·22.179 MB·English

by  Clarence Thomas

1 New York Times Bestseller
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Praise for
My Grandfather’s Son
"Justice Thomas describes his intellectual journey, and his struggle
to keep body and soul together on meager government pay in
some of the book’s most absorbing and self-critical chapters."
—William Grimes, The New York Times
"The book of the year for Americans tired of politics as usual.”
—The Denver Post
"Candid. ... A fascinating glimpse into a tortured, complex, and
often perplexing personality.” —The Washington Post Book World
“Very rewarding reading. . . . While there is anger in the book—
justifiable anger, one might argue—there is also tenderness,
vulnerability brutal honesty and overflowing gratitude. . . . There
is also unswerving intellectual integrity.” —Mona Charen
“The conservative book of the year. . . . Candid, moving, and well
written, it chronicles the life of a truly remarkable man who may
well be the single greatest living American office-holder.”
—The American Spectator
“Absorbing.” —The Economist
“Thomas speaks candidly about the mistakes he made that fueled
his determination to overcome all odds to be appointed to the
nation’s highest court.” —The Oklahoman
“An original addition to those great black autobiographies of the
past. ... A lesson on how to live in freedom—a lesson that begins
with a description of poverty on a par with Richard Wright’s
portrait of poverty in Black Boy. . . . Thomas is now an archetype

that will inspire others. I can think of no greater achievement.”
— Shelby Steele, National Review
“My Grandfathers Son is a fascinating and irresistible read.”

—The New York Sun
“A transcendent work. . . . My Grandfathers Son is a coming of age in

the fullest sense. ... A meditation of time and perspective and the
shifts in outlook both can bring. ... A memoir of raw honesty.”
—The Oregonian
“Engrossing.” —Jack and Suzy Welch, BusinessWeek
“Riveting. ... A classic work of American political biography. . . .
No matter what you think you know about Clarence Thomas, you
don’t know the half or tenth of it unless and until you have read
this book.” —Hugh Hewitt, Townhall.com
“Thomas is refreshingly candid about the depths of his suffering,
and one comes away with a deep sadness about our broken
politics and the ferocious disincentives for anyone to seek high
government appointment.” —Newsday
MY GRANDFATHER'S SON

MY
GRANDFATHER'S
SON
A Memoir
CLARENCE THOMAS
HARPER PERENNIAL
NEW YORK * LONDON • TORONTO ® SYDNEY « NEW DELHI • AUCKLAND
1
HARPER PERENNIAL
The author gratefully acknowledges Senator Jack Danforth for permission to reprint
his letter. And Juan Williams, author and journalist, for permission to reprint part of
his op-ed column.
“The Greatest Love of All.” Words by Linda Creed. Music by Michael Masser.
Copright © 1977 EMI Gold Horizon Music Corp. and EMI Golden Torch Music
Corp. Print rights administered by Alfred Publishing Co., Inc. All rights reserved. Used
by permission of Alfred Publishing Co., Inc.
Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version ®. Copyright © 1973,
1978,1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights
reserved.
A hardcover edition of this book was published in 2007 by HarperCollins Publishers.
MY GRANDFATHERS SON. Copyright © 2007 by Clarence Thomas. All rights reserved.
Prin ted in the United States of America. No part of this book may be used or repro¬
duced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of
brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. For information address
HarperCollins Publishers, IO East 53rd Street, New York, NY 10022.
HarperCollins books may be purchased for educational, business, or sales promotional
use. For information please write: Special Markets Department, HarperCollins Pub¬
lishers, 10 East 53rd Street, New York, NY 10022.
First Harper Perennial edition published 2008.
Designed by Joseph Rutt
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
is available upon request.
ISBN 978-0-06-056556-5
08 09 10 11 12 ID RRD 10 987654321
To my mother, Leola Williams,
who gave me life;
my grandparents Myers and Christine Anderson,
who taught me how to live;
and my brother, Myers Lee Thomas,
whom I loved
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