Reviews (6)

A great and sordid tale
This is a greeat and depressing book. I documents how America is a country of many laws and little enforcement. Believe it. That the book was trashed as anti-Semetic in The NY Times Sunday Book Review only makes it a more important read (The dolt Times reviewer reviewer had a tribal agenda and comes from self-admitted mob affiliated tax cheat family should be all you need to know about that review)
HOPING FOR AN UPDATE
This book tells how Sidney Korshak and other mob fronts moved from Chicago to Las Vegas and Southern California in the 1940's.Using such notorious hangouts as the Bistro and City National Bank in Beverly Hills, some of which are still as sinister as ever, they gained influence in unions, business, and politics at the local and even national and international level.
Worth the wait?
It's 490 years since Sir Thomas More wrote Utopia, a model for any society desiring to live rightly.The Utopians had little interest in money or the false pleasures of jewelry and high fashion.They disdained gambling and the pursuit of "empty and worthless honors," and anybody arrogant enough to run for public office could never gain it.The legal profession was absolutely banned, as was private property.Everybody worked for the greater good of all.There was no "conspiracy of the rich," in which a few preyed on the many and amassed wealth through crooked schemes.
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Subjects:  1. Biography    2. Biography & Autobiography    3. Biography/Autobiography    4. California    5. Chicago    6. Illinois    7. Lawyers    8. Lawyers & Judges    9. Organized Crime    10. True Crime / Espionage    11. United States    12. History / United States / 20th Century   

Reviews (1)

A great read!
An interesting and compelling read, providing great insight to the complications of Earl Warren. A must for anyone who enjoys American or California history, or the Law. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1891-1974    2. Biography    3. Biography / Autobiography    4. Judges    5. Law    6. Lawyers & Judges    7. Legal History    8. Political    9. Supreme Court    10. United States    11. United States - 20th Century    12. United States.    13. Warren, Earl,    14. Biography & Autobiography / Lawyers & Judges   

Reviews (73)

Disappointed
In the beginning of this book I found it a bit disturbing; however, I pressed on and I was glad. I soon came to be highly disappointed by this book though because it seemed so cliche` in the fact that almost every drugged out junkie seems to find a god and heal themselves; then discuss it for 15 chapters. Aside from that fact, almost 3/4 of the book was about doing various drugs, I felt it was drug out too long and could have been summed up in fewer chapters. It got to be monotonous and tiresome reading about the authors junkie habits over and over again. Although the book had great potential and could have been one of the greats; I felt it became monotonous.

Cupcake, you are an amazing and inspirational woman who needs a better editor and copywriter
Cupcake Brown is, without question, an amazing woman who has risen from the ashes by her bootstraps to become a highly respected, influential lawyer and professional speaker.She has many important life memories to share with her readers; however, her memoir, as a whole, is a poorly edited, slightly-rambling account of a troubled youth and early adulthood.I'm not begrudging the author her success, or her well-deserved acclaim, but as a book, her memoir is sub-par.
There is a God!
If you do not believe in God or a higher power, you will after reading this book. This book is not a religious book but a testement to having a purpose in life, even when you dont believe or know you have a purpose. She does not through God in your face but from the troulbe teenage years you know that something greater than herself and propelled her to the point where she is now. This is an amazing book that lets you know that no bad thing last forever and that you can overcome ANYTHING. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. African American families    2. African American women    3. African Americans    4. Biography    5. Biography & Autobiography    6. Biography / Autobiography    7. Biography And Autobiography    8. Biography/Autobiography    9. California    10. General    11. Lawyers & Judges    12. People of Color    13. Personal Memoirs    14. San Diego    15. Biography & Autobiography / General   

Reviews (2)

Lex vs. Rex
John Cooke, who held progressive views of the law that were well ahead of his time and who was a key actor in the trial of King Edward I, is rightly rescued from the dusty corners of English history by the very knowledgeable Mr. Robertson.The heretofore forgotten Cooke emerges a fitting hero to all who believe in the rule of law.
What subject can give sentence on his king? . . .
And who sits here that is not Richard's subject?
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Subjects:  1. Biography    2. Biography & Autobiography    3. Biography / Autobiography    4. Biography/Autobiography    5. Cook, John,    6. England    7. Europe - Great Britain - General    8. Great Britain - History - Tudor And Stuart (1485-1714)    9. Historical - British    10. Lawyers    11. Lawyers & Judges    12. Monarchy And Aristocracy    13. Regicides    14. d. 1660    15. Biography & Autobiography / Lawyers & Judges   

Reviews (46)

liberal blather from a hippie lawyer
Mr. Feige has written a book with some amusing stories but the overall liberal bias renders it more a polemic. Every story is distorted by omission of facts and his unrelenting bitterness. For example Mr. Feige writes how cars with tinted windows are given 5 tickets, one for each window. He doesn't say that tinted cars are the prefered hit vehicles for drive by shootings and drug deals. If the police can get a tinted vehicle off the streets by amplifying the violation by 5, more power to them. He also writes about dog violations as though the police were using them to harass helpless pet owners. He doesn't say that these are not the cute poodles you might find on 72nd St. These are vicious 150 lb pit bulls that are used to terrorise neighbors and clear a path on the sidewalk. Finally, there are the ad hominem attacks naming specific jurists without any attempt to provide a balanced view. At one point, Mr. Feige names a judge and states, "He got the job by handing $38,000 in cash to a politician". Where are the facts to back up this accusation? More than anything else, the emptyness and bitterness of Mr. Feige's life shines through. He never mentions a wife, children, or any outside of work activities other than drinking.

Blow-by-blow account of one hectic day is eye-opening and revealing.
INDEFENSIBLE: ONE LAWYER'S JOURNEY INTO THE INFERNO OF AMERICAN JUSTICE provides a description of an ordinary day in the life of a South Bronx public defender: a day which encounters murders, annoying fellow lawyers, and vindictive judges. Feige has been a public defender for nearly fifteen years: his blow-by-blow account of one hectic day is eye-opening and revealing.
A glimpse into an impossible system
Mr. Feige's journey into the day in the life of a Public Defender in the Bronx is funny and infuriating.Little gets done (aside from injury).His world is one where the compassionate are blocked from those in need by a pretty brutal, heartless, and racist beurocracy clothed in a robe.He fights a lot.Sometimes he wins.Mostly, it is a study of a system in need.Mr. Feige does a great job of showing a system in great need of repair.
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Subjects:  1. Biography / Autobiography    2. Bronx County    3. Courts    4. Courts - General    5. Criminal Justice Administration    6. Criminal justice, administration of    7. Criminology    8. Feige, David    9. Law    10. Lawyers & Judges    11. Legal Profession    12. New York    13. New York (State)    14. New York State    15. Public defenders    16. Biography & Autobiography / Lawyers & Judges   

Reviews (26)

Blackmun's Papers
Please be aware before you pick up this book that it is based almost solely on the personal and professional papers of Justice Blackmun, which he left to the U.S. archives for analysis five years after his death.
Not so much a Biography....
What Greenhouse has done with this book is taken a Lifetime Justice Blackmun's papersand condensed it into the "Best of"highlights.
Paragon of Liberalism
Towards the end of the Civil War, Lincoln wrote that "I claim not to have controlled events, but confess plainly that events have controlled me." The same might be said of Harry Blackmun's life. Greenhouse however demonstrates that Blackmun also controlled events as well. The author writes that Justice Blackmun "was to be linked forever to a cause that had scarcely been his own." Greenhouse's book portrays Blackmun as incredulous at first as the nation reacted to Roe v. Wade. In fact, Blackmun initially wrote that the reaction to Roe would be "an unsettled period for a while" not fully realizing the ramifications of what he wrote. Yet, throughout his years on the Court, Blackmun came to the realization that Roe, like it or not, was his legacy, and as the Rehnquist court took over, he defended it to his utmost in Webster and Casey.
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Subjects:  1. (Harry Andrew),    2. 1908-    3. Biography    4. Biography & Autobiography    5. Biography / Autobiography    6. Biography/Autobiography    7. Blackmun, Harry A    8. Blackmun, Harry A.    9. Constitutional history    10. Government - Judicial Branch    11. Judges    12. Lawyers & Judges    13. Politics / Current Events    14. U.S. Supreme Court    15. United States    16. United States - 20th Century   

Reviews (15)

Elegant as silk, sharp as a scalpel
Kenji Yoshino's book manages a difficult feat: it is simultaneously elegant and hard-hitting. Yoshino, a professor at Yale Law School, blends memoir and legal history as he charts the changing attitude of American society toward homosexuality. Formerly, gays were treated as if they had a deadly disease--if they were not willing to change, forcible means such as lobotomy and electroshock therapy were at hand to "convert" them. Next, they were left alone as long as they were willing to hide their sexuality. The riots of Stonewall and the AIDS plague were watersheds in changing this attitude, as gay men and women demanded to be recognized as such AND treated as human beings.
Insightful and much needed
Yoshino is one of the brightest stars in civil rights discussion. I found his book insightful and even necessary for any real progress to be made for civil rights for all people.

What a career!
I found the personal coming out to his parents story very moving; it brought tears to my eyes.I also loved the epilogue and the story of the blue star.But, in between, what a lot of navel-gazing and counting of angels on the head of a pin.I'm a lawyer, but I admit I got lost in all the differentiations and attempts to focus the covering/reverse-covering analysis on each type of discrimination.Then, halfway-through, I learn he was only in law school in the 1990s.I've been practicing longer than that and he's the Harvard professor!(I realize that's a comment on me.)This guy has really carved out a self-referential niche for himself. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Asians In The U.S.    2. Biography    3. Biography & Autobiography    4. Biography / Autobiography    5. Biography/Autobiography    6. Ethnic Studies - Asian American Studies    7. Gay lawyers    8. Gay rights    9. General    10. Japanese American lawyers    11. Lawyers & Judges    12. Personal Memoirs    13. Political    14. Political Freedom & Security - Civil Rights    15. Practice Of Law    16. United States    17. Current Events / General   

Reviews (58)

Brilliance qua Judge Judy!
If you get this for Christmas, just make sure you also get something in writing that says it's a gift, not a loan.

She may be angry but she has a point
So just as I was about to condemn all books that have catchy titles, I come across this one. We all know that we shouldn't judge a book by its cover and title. I learned that I also shouldn't judge a book by its author's TV show. A court session on TV? Just another reality tv show right? Ive seen only a few episodes of Judge Judy and I can't help but think that the 'cases' were very trivial, and were just hyped by a super sharp tongued judge, and a super reactive audience. I was amazed by Judge Judy Sheindlin's no hesitation, no holds barred approach to telling off those that have wrongfully crossed family laws.
Judge JudyRules!
As usual, Judge Judy tell's it like it is. There should be more Judge's like her. Two thumbs up! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Civil Procedure    2. General    3. Juvenile courts    4. Juvenile justice, Administration of    5. Law    6. Lawyers & Judges    7. Legal Profession    8. Legal Reference / Law Profession    9. New York    10. New York (State)    11. Sociology    12. United States    13. Biography & Autobiography / General    14. Central government policies    15. Laws of Other Jurisdictions & General Law    16. USA   

Reviews (3)

An attorney general willing to take on unscrupulous corporate giants (3.5*)
For a book that supposedly focuses on him, Eliot Spitzer for the most part remains a rather obscure character who operates in the background orchestrating a crackdown on various financial institutions engaged in all manner of highly unethical, if not criminal, behavior in the state of New York. It should be a disturbing book. The dishonesty and disrespect for the public evidenced in this book by major financial institutions is appalling.
A balanced look at Spitzermania
This book will intrigue anyone interested in the political process and law. Masters offers a balanced view of Spitzer's crusade (yes, i know he's jewish) against wall street. The gist of the book is Spitzer's background and education (rich, ivy league, privilleged) and his ambitious rise to NY Attorney General where he has whipped into shape Wall Street. In doing so, Spitzer has caught the ire of many people who beleive that he is trespassing on SEC and federal government grounds. Others feel Spitzer is doing the job the SEC SHOULD have been doing. Whether you like him or not, the book offers an interesting perspective into a rising politician and the reaons why he will probably never have a legitimate shot at the White House (hint, its for the same reasons he's been thus far succesful).

WORTHY OF A PULITZER
So well known are Eliot Spitzer and the corporate visionaries he brought to boot, so widely praised has he been, so robust the expectancy of his gubernatorial future, that any writer about himrisksbecominganother entrant in a great sack race of redundancy. Brooke Masters's Pulitzer worthy "Spoiling for a Fight: The Rise ofEliot Spitzer", however, is both a journalistic triumph and, socially measured,a public service. Her close description of the facts and settings, rendered in a highly readable style,reflect her Harvard and London School of Economics degrees burnished by sixteen years with the Washington Post.
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Subjects:  1. Antitrust law    2. Attorneys general    3. Biography    4. Biography & Autobiography    5. Biography / Autobiography    6. Biography And Autobiography    7. Biography/Autobiography    8. Lawyers & Judges    9. New York (State)    10. Political    11. Public Affairs & Administration    12. Spitzer, Eliot   

Reviews (4)

Francis brings Massachusetts in the late 17th century to life
This is a well-researched and revealing account of the inner experience of a wealthy and powerful member of the Boston community.Largely based on Samuel Sewall's voluminous diaries, it covers his life from birth to death. It goes into detail about all sorts of events in Boston and Newbury.
Good History and Good Writing
The author uses a biography of Samuel Sewall, affable community leader and judge, as a means to examine the evolution of the Puritan community and conscience.To his credit, the author neither worships nor vilifies the Puritan culture in general nor Samuel Sewall in particular; rather, as a good historian, he attempts to understand and translate their ideas for our consideration.
A generous portrait
As a student of history with a special fascination for the witch trials, I was looking forward to a personal account of the proceedings, and an introspective critique of the judges' verdicts, as promised by the subtitle of the book. Although the history of the times as recounted by Richard Francis, with liberal quotations from Sewall's diaries, is beautifully painted to make for a good understanding of the context of the trials, Judge Sewall's ultimate contrition hardly makes for a sypathetic figure. To the contrary, the picture created, rather than describing the "forming of an American conscience", only reinforces a picture of superstition and ignorance that leaves one wondering what it was that Samuel Sewall actually apologized for. I couldn't help but get the impression that if Increase Mather had ordered Sewall to hang more witches, he would have rationalized carrying on into the 18th century!
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Subjects:  1. 1652-1730    2. Biography    3. Biography / Autobiography    4. Ethics    5. Historical - General    6. History    7. History: American    8. Judges    9. Lawyers & Judges    10. Massachusetts    11. Merchants    12. Puritans    13. Sewall, Samuel,    14. U.S. History - Colonial Period (1607-1775)    15. United States - Colonial Period    16. American history: c 1500 to c 1800    17. Biography: historical    18. History / General    19. USA    20. c 1600 to c 1700   

Editorial Review

Deep in the granite hills of eastern Arizona in 1880, H.C. Day founded the Lazy B ranch, where U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor and her brother Alan spent their youth, a time they recall in this affectionate joint memoir.Read more

Reviews (30)

A Very Impressive Lady!
"Lazy B," like the title implies, is the story of Sandra Day O'Connor and her younger brother growing up on a ranch in south-eastern Arizona.They grew up in an isolated environment that mandated self-reliance and initiative.Sandra received much of her formal education through riding the train to El Paso to stay with her maternal grandparents while attending a local girls' school.Her father had wanted to attend Stanford but the responsibilities of taking over the family ranch prevented that.Sandra O'Connor was able to achieve that for him, where she excelled academically, was then inspired by one of her instructors to study law (also at Stanford), met her husband (and also dated classmate William Rehnquist), and then struggled to begin a law career at a time that women had almost no such opportunity.(Despite Sandra graduating from Stanford Law #2 in her class, her early job searches were at best met with "Can you type?")
An image of the old Southwest
This book meant a lot to me on many levels, a special tale for this transplanted Southwesterner. I was attracted first because of the co-author, who is one of Our Country's great ladies. She and her brother have put together an inside look at life in the Southwest, the cattle ranch family life, that is no more. A whole chapter on rain and what it means in an arid land. Their loving but reserved father and how he made a living off the land. It reminded me of my own stern but loving father - when dads were supposed to be that way. The ranch life, the family and characters that inhabited it are fascinating. Wonderful story of a different place and time.

O'Connor reminisces about her childhood
This book is a colorful portrait of the world O'Connor grew up in. It is simple and lovely - very little mention of her later life in the law. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1930-    2. Arizona    3. Biography    4. Biography & Autobiography    5. Biography / Autobiography    6. Biography/Autobiography    7. Judges    8. Lawyers & Judges    9. O'Connor, Sandra Day,    10. Ranch life    11. Regional Subjects - West    12. United States    13. Women    14. Biography & Autobiography / Women   

Editorial Review

A former prosecutor and moderate Republican governor of California when appointed to the Supreme Court in 1953, Earl Warren (1891-1974) surprised everyone by leading it in an increasingly liberal direction. Brown v. Board of Education, Miranda v. Arizona, and other key decisions bolstered the rights of individuals and committed the federal government to acting in support of them. Journalist/historian Ed Cray's detailed account depicts an admirable, self-assured man who arrived slowly at positions, driven not by ideology but by an old-fashioned sense of morality that asked, "Is it fair?" ... Read more

Reviews (12)

Pretty good
Earl Warren was Chief Justice for 16 years, from 1953-69.he presided over Brown v. Board of Education, the most important case in US history.this book brilliantly portrays the Chief Justice.

Great Man, Great Book
Earl Warren grew up in Bakersfield, California. To those of you who've been there, it seems an unlikely place to beget one of the great justices of the 20th century who was known for his ability to continue to mold and change his ideas. However, this comprehensive and excellent biography of Earl Warren, Governor of California and 14th Chief Justice of the United States, shows that he turned out far from where he might have been expected to wind up.
The best biography of the most controversial chief justice
For those who have even heard of Earl Warren he is solely identified as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. Ed Cray's wonderful biography clearly shows that he was much more than simply a judge, he was a seminal political figure during the mid-20th century. Cray presents Warren's rise to political stardom in clear and lively terms. Warren represented the progressive wing of the Republican party and was so popular as Govenor of California that he defeated FDR's son after the war and was even the nominee of both parties in one of his elections. Beyond his service in California, Cray also demonstrates just how close Warren came to the oval office when he ran as VP with Thomas Dewey, who would likely have won the election had he followed Warren's advice. Read more

Subjects:  1. 1891-1974    2. Biography    3. Biography & Autobiography    4. Biography / Autobiography    5. Biography/Autobiography    6. California    7. General    8. Governors    9. Judges    10. Lawyers & Judges    11. U.S. Supreme Court    12. United States    13. Warren, Earl,    14. Biography & Autobiography / General    15. Warren, Earl   

Subjects:  1. Biography    2. Biography & Autobiography    3. Biography/Autobiography    4. Illinois    5. Lawyers    6. Lawyers & Judges    7. Presidents    8. Presidents & Heads of State    9. United States    10. American history: c 1800 to c 1900    11. Legal profession    12. USA    13. c 1800 to c 1900   

Reviews (121)

Good story, but no real guidance
I read One L and enjoyed Turow's story.I do think the sharing of his daily life and emotions as a first year law student is beneficial.However, I have also read The Law School Breakthrough by Chris Yianilos.Yianilos gives a very detailed description of the tools and techniques needed in order to not only survive the first year, but to excel in your class.While I did like reading One L, I feel like the Law School Breakthrough is the book to get if you're looking for concrete guidance for law school success.

Timeless Account of One L
This book was recommended to me by a friend who recently graduated from law school. I had asked her about interesting reading material before my first year, and she felt that Turow's "One L" would be a good start for me. As soon as I picked up the book, I was captivated by the narrative and honest tone of Turow's account. Although the account itself is from the 70s, there is a timeless quality in Turow's writing that brings his law student experience to life. This novel is definitely worth reading, especially for those who are thinking about law school.

Great read
This book is a surprise.It is a great read.You may think it will be on the predictible side, but Turow is a creative writer who understands what readers want.You can't miss with one of his books, this one is an easy read. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Biography    2. Biography / Autobiography    3. General    4. Law    5. Law students    6. Lawyers & Judges    7. Legal Education    8. Massachusetts    9. Study and teaching    10. Turow, Scott    11. Biography: general    12. Law / General   

Editorial Review

Justice Byron White had a life that could fill