John Marshall, who for 34 years served as chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. Joel Richard Paul wrote a book about the man, titled Without Precedent: Chief Justice John Marshall and His Times.

“A very readable biography of Chief Justice Marshall. It provides the rest of the story, as it were, to many of the notable cases of his tenure, which creates a much richer picture of the case law and also Marshall’s genius in managing the early Supreme Court.”

—Shyla Blackketter Dwyer, director of environmental health and safety, Tamko Building Products Joplin, Missouri