This latest 2021 book by Lord Sumption, a former Justice of the UK Supreme Court from 2012 to 2018 is a gem.
Containing 12 essays based on his lectures given over the past decade and updated so that they speak as of 2020 (see Foreword p vii), these essays will interest readers, in particular lawyers and judges, with a keen interest in recent political events and history.
Drawing on his past expertise as a Fellow at Magdalen College, Oxford Lord Sumption gives us a sumptuous feast on the interactions between recent political events, history, and the law in his essays.
He is not afraid of being politically incorrect. His essays “On Apologising for History ” and “Magna Carta Then and Now” for example are direct and calls a spade a spade. I agree with this approach. It’s a pity he does not include more notes and an index in his book. This would have assisted me to chase up the sources. Overall an excellent book.