Forcing the Spring

Starred review from March 10, 2014
Channeling the extended legal battle over California's Proposition 8 ban on same-sex marriage into an engaging narrative, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Becker presents a thorough, perceptive read. Beginning with private conversations among friends and moving all the way to the Supreme Court, Becker constructs the legal story with the privilege of generous access to the plaintiffs and legal team that fought for marriage equality. Along the way, everyone from President Obama to director/actor Rob Reiner and current Human Rights Campaign President Chad Griffin find their way into the action. Becker navigates the vast amount of legal history, backroom conversations, media wrangling, and personal stories with an ease that makes what could otherwise be a demanding or partisan story into learned political journalism. While the tendency to paint the fight for gay marriage as the pinnacle of gay rights might dismay those involved in other aspects of the political struggle, Becker's insights into the legal process are evenhanded. In the end, the book stands testament to good political writing and a wealth of information made alive through prose. Agent: Sloan Harris, ICM.

Starred review from April 1, 2014
A New York Times reporter delivers a gripping narrative about the recent court battles involving California's Proposition 8 (which outlawed gay marriage) and the Defense of Marriage Act. In her note at the end, Becker writes that she enjoyed virtually unfettered access to the unlikely legal team that joined the opponents of Bush v. Gore (2000), conservative Ted Olson and liberal David Boies, in their battle against Prop 8 in the federal court system. But Olson and Boies aren't the only notables. Becker also focuses on strategist Chad Griffin, on Hollywood's contributions (especially the unrelenting efforts of Rob Reiner), Chuck Cooper (the lawyer for the opposition--he did not give the same access, but he was generous with post-trial interviews) and, of course, the four plaintiffs in the suit. (A California marriage in the final chapter is a genuine tear-jerker.) Although the author pauses occasionally to supply some background and/or history--the Dred Scott case, Brown v. Board of Education--her momentum is resolutely forward, her writing so brisk and urgent that even though we know the outcome, the tension in the courtroom scenes and the intervals of waiting for decisions remain taut, even nerve-wracking. Becker's access gives us insights into other aspects of the story, as well--the deliberations within the Obama administration, the pro-gay marriage statements of Vice President Biden that seemed to animate the president, and the thinking in the Justice Department. She gives a gripping account of the trial in the U.S. District Court (with some fine analysis of the role of Judge Vaughn Walker, gay himself), some of which she reproduces directly from court records. Becker follows the case from there to the U.S. Court of Appeals and then the Supreme Court, where we listen to the oral arguments and follow the sometimes-twisted thinking of the justices. First-rate reporting informs this thrilling narrative of hope.

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Starred review from April 1, 2014
In 2008, when California's Proposition 8 banned same-sex marriage, gays and gay-rights advocates had a hard decision to make. Should they bypass the tedious state-by-state strategy and force the issue to the U.S. Supreme Court, or would they ruin their chances if they moved too soon? Pulitzer Prizewinning reporter Becker had unprecedented access for five years to the astonishing legal drama that witnessed a massive shift in public and political opinions about gay rights and marriage equality. The unlikely legal team was lead by Ted Olson and David Boies, who had been opponents in the Bush v. Gore lawsuit. Becker details the behind-the-scenes strategizing of the legal team, movement activists, lobbying groups, political figures, celebrity backers, and others as the case wound its way from California to Washington, DC. Becker profiles the couples named in the court case and their personal struggles to have their relationships legally recognized and protected by marriage, to enjoy the same rights as heterosexuals. She also chronicles the political drama that led to reversals on the issue among several political figures, including President Barack Obama, first elected on the very night that the California ban was enacted. Becker's chronicle of a legal battle reveals deeper changes in the cultural and political landscape of a nation grappling with old prejudices and changing public opinion that continue to resonate.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)

November 15, 2013

With California's 2008 passage of Proposition 8, which barred gay couples from marrying, activists brought a legal case all the way to the Supreme Court. Becker, a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter at the New York Times exclusively embedded with the plaintiff's legal team, offers an insider's view of the battle.

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