Perspective

The book is written in third person from a limited omniscient point of view. It's the only possible way to tell the story as no one person would have been witness to all the happenings important to the story. It's important to remember that the view is limited in the fact that details of Supreme Court Justices' discussions and what ultimately led them to their decision is not a matter of public record and so is not included in this book. It's equally important to note that the majority of the book is taken from public records including court transcripts and court cases. There's an overall look at societal and legal trends of the day that required a study of those topics.

The perspective is entirely focused on the legal issues surrounding the case. For example, the only information about Gideon himself is the letter he wrote to...