$9.99 on Kindle, Nook, Apple Books, Kobo, Google Play (November 2025)Charles Evans Hughes by Merlo J. Pusey (XXX,000 words, YY illustrations)
Winner of the Pulitzer and Bancroft prizes in 1952.
“[A] dominant figure is bound to be controversial, and a contemporary biography too readily invites hagiography or debunking. Let it be said at once that Merlo J. Pusey wholly escapes both temptations... it is fortunate that Chief Justice Hughes entrusted his papers to so conscientious and responsible a digger into materials as Pusey for his authorized Life... The Life of Hughes has to be woven on the loom of a half century of our political-judicial history. With a due sense of proportion, Pusey gives us Hughes in that context without losing him in it. Through Pusey’s lucid and measured narrative, Hughes emerges as the clear-headed, impressive, self-disciplined, resourceful, witty, companionable, energizing, exacting and considerate person that all who worked with him in the various roles of his long life will recognize through their own experience... And the younger generation, whose participation in history comes through the printed page, should find in Pusey a reliable guide.” — Felix Frankfurter, The New York Times
“In the preparation of what may well be a definitive biography of Charles Evans Hughes, Merlo J. Pusey... had the benefit of numerous personal conferences with the subject of his fascinating story... a valuable contribution to American history.” — Joseph F. Thorning, World Affairs
“Mr. Pusey... has ranged widely in his search for materials bearing directly upon the life of his subject and has organized those materials with skill and literary fluency... this full-length portrayal of Hughes is a distinguished and valuable piece of work.” — Carl Brent Swisher, The American Historical Review
“Mr. Pusey has put us much in his debt. As the result of six years of devoted labors he has given us a full-length portrait and a painstaking account of the varied activities of one of the foremost public men and personalities of our time... the author has enjoyed freest access to, and has conscientiously utilized, a vast mass of first-hand materials... [and] has exploited a most unusual opportunity.” — Edward S. Corwin, The American Political Science Review
“An excellent biography of one of our great statesmen... is written with much wit [which] fully brings out Justice Hughes’ warmth and humanity. New and interesting historical matter is presented and the authoritative tone of the whole work reflects the fact that the author received the full cooperation of the Hughes family in producing this biography.” — Current History
“Mr. Pusey... has taken great pains to assemble and present a mass of exceedingly interesting and valuable material. He makes excellent use of letters, public documents, newspaper accounts, and biographical notes the Chief Justice started writing after his retirement. Much of the story is conveyed with a perception and excitement which would do honor to even the most creative of biographers. Mr. Pusey largely succeeds in portraying Hughes in relation to the forces and events of his time, thus distilling for us a half-century of political and judicial history. He is at his best when writing about political controversies and matters of statecraft... [a] truly superior biography.” — Samuel J. Konefsky, The Yale Law Journal
“[T]he story [of Charles Evans Hughes is] superbly told... It is an account, in fine perspective, of events large and small in the long career of an extraordinarily busy man, and it is interwoven with the chronicles of a family life of rare delight... Mr. Pusey strikes me as being objective and fair.” — Noel T. Dowling, Virginia Law Review
“Evidently Mr. Hughes desired a biography that would approximate autobiography and yet be the writing of a free mind. Mr. Pusey has performed this task painstakingly and unobtrusively; he has stayed well away from philosophy, from strong interpretation, from striking literary effects.” — Charles Fairman, The American Journal of International Law
“[A] warm and perceptive biography of a great and kindly man.” — Arthur S. Link, The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science
“This is... an ‘official’ biography, but future appraisals are unlikely to make material modifications in Pusey’s portrayal of a wonderfully gifted individual and a great American.” — C. Herman Pritchett, The Virginia Quarterly Review
“Perhaps the greatest attribute of Pusey’s book is the removal of the cloak of austerity from Hughes. The delightful moments showing the Justice as a devoted family man contrast with his hard-driving qualities as an administrator. Much warmth is also added to his character by verbatim excerpts from his private letters to his wife. Such qualities contribute materially to Hughes’ stature.” — Lois L. Crissey, Buffalo Law Review
“[Pusey], associate editor of the Washington Post and already known for his sterling work on the subject of the Supreme Court crisis, has not written just a journalistic gloss... The [book] represents as sympathetic yet faithful a biography as has been written these many years and one full worthy to add to the growing list of life accounts of other great American judges.” — Chicago-Kent Law Review