Turning to the books, let's begin with Democracy in America. Tell us about it and why it continues to resonate with you.

It’s a masterpiece of sociological and political analysis. In the 1830s, Tocqueville looked at the newly democratic America and described it in terms that, for the most part, are applicable today. For example, he spoke of the clamour that he heard when he reached the shores of America. Law in America rises from the bottom up, it isn't decreed from the top down. When we have a new problem, we start with vigorous debate and discussion that can sound like clamour.

For instance, how will privacy and free expression interact in the Internet age? The village gossip would forget what was going on, but computers won’t. Norms about privacy and how privacy relates to free expression are changing. When we want change in an area like that, we start to discuss it – in schools, in associations, in newspapers, in magazine articles. Debate and discussion bubbles up. Some kind of rule is formed, perhaps through an administrative process. We may change it, there may be legislative hearings, our representatives might write a statute and if that isn’t working well, the new rule is tested through the courts to see whether it falls within the boundaries of the constitution.

The constitution is a document that sets boundaries. Being a judge on a constitutional court is like living on a frontier. Is this statute inside or outside America’s boundaries? That's what we're deciding. Now, sometimes that's difficult. Is abortion inside or outside our constitutional boundaries? Is prayer in schools? These are difficult questions. But in the vast area between the boundaries, democratically elected representatives make decisions, after all sorts of consultation with the people, after all sorts of clamour. Tocqueville encapsulates all that. His work still helps us understand America, 170 years after he wrote it.

How did Tocqueville influence your view of our constitutional system?

He talks about the importance of aggregating views, as we do in the United States, through voluntary associations. He talks about the importance of bringing the average person into the democratic process. Tocqueville, in his writing, shows us the many ways in which the average person can participate and must participate for the democratic process to work.

Tocqueville observed two persistent tendencies in American culture: abhorrence of elite institutions and reliance on our legal system to settle differences. It seems to me these two tendencies are in tension and place the Supreme Court in a rather tough spot.

I don't have a fixed view on that point. Life is complicated. America is a country of 309 million people who think a lot of different things. There's every race, there's every religion, there's every point of view. We have a common view that real differences should be decided under law. That is a miracle, all things considered. Considering the number of differences that are possible, it's not surprising that law is complex. Now, I don't think our system is perfect. I could list 10,000 reforms, but I won't bore you. I'll just say it's important not to understate the need for law and for lawyers.

Let's move forward to another classic work of literary nonfiction, The Education of Henry Adams. Please tell us about Adams and his quasi-autobiography.

It’s a marvellous book. Every American should read it and so should anyone who wants to understand America.

Henry Adams grew up in an aristocratic family. His grandfather was President. His great grandfather was President. He was a perfectly positioned observer of the political scene. His perspective and his longevity gave him a broad view. In his life, from 1838 until 1918, he saw radical change in America – a lot of it for the worse. He saw the country expand economically but he also saw the rise of a class of robber barons. He saw all kinds of corruption in Washington, where he was based.