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A biography is a non-fictional account, at least to the extent possible in this fallen world, of a person’s life by an author. An autobiography is the same thing except that the author is the person whose life is being presented. It is interesting to compare the pros and cons of the two. A biography, since it is written by a different person, is unaffected by the subject’s personal biases. However, the subject is usually dead, so that the author can only go on written sources and sometimes personal accounts from people who knew their subject. An autobiography, being written by oneself about oneself, has the advantage of inside knowledge, especially in special areas but can be biased by trying to present the unfavorable incidents of one’s life in a more favorable manner. An honest autobiography, written by a honest person and written well, can be a fascinating book.
My Grandfather’s Son, by Clarence Thomas, is the unflinchingly honest life story of Clarence Thomas, who has been a Supreme Court Justice for almost 36 years. He was born into poverty in rural Georgia in 1948. Abandoned by his father at an early age, he ended up being raised by his grandfather, the father of his mother, in the city of Savannah, Georgia. His grandfather, who he learned to call Daddy, was a staunch Catholic man with a rigid code of personal and work ethics. He did not show his emotions very much but showed his love by how he raised Clarence and his younger brother. In the middle of the worst of the Jim Crow laws, racial prejudice, and segregation, Thomas’ grandfather taught him his faith, his values, and his love for America.
Clarence Thomas went on to academic success, obtaining a law degree from Yale Law School, worked in the Federal government in Washington, DC, and was nominated to the US Supreme Court by President George H.W. Bush in 1991. After a bitter confirmation fight, where Thomas’ character was horribly and falsely impugned, he was confirmed to the High Court. He has served honestly and wisely ever since.
We sometimes say, when a boy resembles his father in some way, that he is “his father’s son.” Thomas attributes everything to his Daddy, his grandfather who raised him, hence the title of the autobiography, His Grandfather’s Son. This book is fascinating and inspiring and can be read profitably by high school students. They will learn a lot about the difference integrity can make in a man’s life. They will also learn much about events in the United States since the late 1940s and especially since the early 1990s, after Clarence Thomas became a Supreme Court Justice. Clarence Thomas has left his mark on American history and I am glad that he has.