Most people can tell you two things about Clarence Thomas: Anita Hill accused him of sexual harassment, and he almost never speaks from the bench. Here are some things they don't know: Thomas is a black nationalist. In college he memorized the speeches of Malcolm X. He believes white people are incurably racist.


In a groundbreaking work, Corey Robin-one of the foremost analysts of the right-delves deeply into both Thomas's biography and his jurisprudence. The hidden source of Thomas's conservative views, he demonstrates, is a profound skepticism that racism can be overcome. There's a reason why liberals complain that Thomas doesn't speak but seldom pay attention when he does: were they to listen, they'd hear a racial pessimism that often sounds similar to their own. This unacknowledged consensus about the impossibility of progress is key to understanding today's political stalemate.