From the Preface to the Third Edition:

     George Van Santvoord published his Sketches of the Lives, Times and Judicial Services of the Chief Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States in a 530-page volume – about 100 pages per Chief Justice. Twenty-eight years and two Chief Justices later, William Scott’s 1882 edition of the Sketches totaled 740 pages – again, about 100 pages per Chief. At that rate, a 2001 edition would weigh in at 1,600 pages or so. But we could not imagine voluntarily picking up such a book, so we decided not to inflict it on you. Instead, we will publish the third edition of the Sketches in digestible chunks, one Chief Justice at a time. We have picked up, as William Scott did, where our predecessor left off, reproducing his work on the early Chief Justices largely as-is, but correcting indisputably typographical errors. We have added illustrations, chapter breaks, an index, and a chronology.

     In their latest incarnation, the Sketches will remain true to Van Santvoord’s original plan. They will not “pretend to the minuteness of the full and complete biography,” but will instead briefly and readably, “trace the judicial history and follow the professional career of these illustrious jurists” and “present an accurate and connected view of the public life of each of them before coming to the bench.” Within that form, the Sketches will “present a brief and succinct, but connected” institutional history of the Supreme Court and “notice, more or less fully, most of the important Constitutional questions which have been discussed in the Supreme Court from the foundation of the government to the present time.” This ambition may sound like the proverbial attempt to force ten pounds of beans into a five-pound sack, but unencumbered by the law-scholarly compulsions to comprehensiveness and novelty, we see no reason not to select the five tastiest pounds and leave the rest on the floor.

Subscribers to the Green Bag received George Van Santvoord's Sketch of John Jay, Volume I of the Green Bag's Sketches of the Chief Justices, as our annual Holiday Greeting for 2001. If you are not a subscriber to the Green Bag, or if you would like to purchase additional copies, the book is available for $10 including domestic shipping directly from The Green Bag Press. You may pay either by check mailed to the Green Bag Press, 6600 Barnaby Street N.W., Washington, D.C., 20015, or by credit card through PayPal by using the link below: