No comments about Who's Who in American Law, 1990-91 (Who's Who in American Law).

No comments about Biographical Sketches of the Bench and Bar of South Carolina.

1 comments about Five Decades in Court.

1. I have a number of comments on this book, but the most important would be to question why it was written. It does not go into enough detail in the cases to be of use as a legal text, and the same lack of depth in cases makes it boring for the average reader. I had a hard time finishing the book, due to boredom, and only finished through sheer determination. The only possible value that I could see would be for a historical society in Oregon, or a legal museum.
   
   The author describes a number of cases over a forty year career. None are coverd with depth, and contain only his memories of the highlights. Some trail cases were detailed in as little as three or four sentences, and many were a mere one to two paragraphs in length. It was somewhat interesting to see what has changed in product liability law over the years, but even the description of that was rather weak.
   
   In addition, there were numerous errors in spelling, missing words, or incorrect tenses. I would venture a guess that there was no editor for the book and makes me wonder if it was published by a "vanity" publisher.
   
   While the author appeared to have an interesting career, I cannot think of a reason to buy this book. Check it out of a library if you want to read it, but don't waste your hard earned money on it.

5 comments about Holocaust Survivor.

1. "I was never a teenager...I lived on less than 800 calories a day...I was tortured; I was beaten; I've got scars on my face, but I always stood up. I always bounced back." Holocaust Survivor chronicles the five and a half years Mike Jacobs, founder of The Dallas Memorial Center for Holocaust Studies, spent as a youth in the ghettos and concentration camps of Poland including Auschwitz/Birkenau and Mauthausen/Gusen II. From the age of fifteen to nineteen, Mike witnessed and was subjected to horrors that no one should ever have to endure, including the infamous Death March in the dead of winter out of Auschwitz-Birkenau. He spares no detail in the retelling of the events he lived through, from the "beautiful dolls" and sadistic SS Sergeant of the Ostrowiec Ghetto, to the risky business of sabotaging the Messerschmidts he worked on as part of the camp resistance. Mike credits his survival to three things: his faith, his unfailing belief that he would one day be free, and his ability to dream. It is this underlying note of positive thinking that I think makes Mike's story different and eminently readable for all ages. Mike easily makes us believe that, despite the darkness and despair surrounding him, he did, indeed, rely on his dreams and soaring imagination to keep hope alive. His concentration camp friends thought "Mendel is getting off his rocker," but Mike felt the secret of survival was to close his eyes and soar high above the camp like a bird. "Guys, you wouldn't believe it! It was beautiful--I traveled all over the world, I was free!" This incredible story of spirit, endurance, and triumph over impossible odds is punctuated with Mike's message: "Hate breeds hate. But we cannot be silent or complacent. If we are, this can happen again." Thank you, Mike, for all the times you've spoken to my students, touched their hearts, moved them to tears, and ultimately, made them a formidable force for change.



2. Some people write books for money or recognition - not Mike Jacobs.

   His whole message - both in person and in his book - urges each one of us to "always remember, never forget," and to "never become silent or complacent." This message at first seemed somewhat obvious from what one might expect from a survivor.

   But Mike has a different spin on his message: He doesn't hate, and he doesn't feel self pity. Rather, he's exhuberant in his mission to live life to its fullest, and along the way, to explain what he lived through so no one human being ever has to face it again.

   His book is incredible - not just one to add to any collection; rather, your interest in a survivor's tale and triumph over such horrifying persecution should start right here with Mike. Let him tell you what really happened as he lived it first hand...and walk away with the message he lives every day to pass on to us, our children and their children.




3. Mike came to our school in October and shared a VERY SAD story with us and shode us some very strange things like the soup made of human Fat and a little bottle of poison.And much more but I cant remember them all well I REALLY want to buy his book to see alot more stuff about it!!



4. I am leading a group of five High School Seniors in an independent study about the Holocaust. This work, Holocaust Survivor, is a great resource. It is a raw, transcribed oral history of one man's journey. My students have found it very moving and informative.



5. I am utterly amazed at what this man went through. I have read alot about the holocaust but every survivor has a different story and there is always something that will shock you with every story. The horrors of what happened will never cease to shock me, never. This man has written a memoire that is packed with people and events than do not allow you to put this book down. It is very interesting to read and through all the horror you are glad to know that he made it through and had done so many wonderfull things with his life. I finished this book very quickly due to the fact it was hard to put down. I would recomend this book highly not only because it is so interesting but because it will allow to to understand how blessed we all are, you might just will change the way you live and think.

No comments about The Papers of John Marshall: Vol X: Correspondence, Papers, and Selected Judicial Opinions, January 1824-April 1827 (Papers of John Marshall).

No comments about Brandeis - Intimate Biography Of One Of America's Truly Great Supreme Court Justices.

No comments about Biographical sketches of the bench and bar of South Carolina: by John Belton O\'Neall. To which is added the original fee bill of 1791. The rolls of attorneys ... the records at Charleston and Columbia, etc..

No comments about Atrocious Judges: Lives Of Judges Infamous As Tools Of Tyrants And Instruments Of Oppression (1856).

1 comments about In Pursuit of Right and Justice: Edward Weinfeld As Lawyer and Judge.

1. This is a very fine biography of U.S. District Judge Edward Weinfeld (1901-1988), who served on the Southern District of New York from 1950 until his death. The author, a distinguished legal historian at NYU Law, has added insights into the Judge due to his tenure as Weinfeld's clerk during 1965-1966. However, the real foundation of the volume is extraordinary research into published and unpublished sources, plus a nice range of interviews as well. As solid an accomplishment as the book is as a judicial biography, its contributions go far beyond even that. The book traces Weinfeld from his youth on the Lower East Side in the early years of the 20th century, as he undergoes a process of socialization in the public schools. It follows his legal education at NYU and his early practice--thereby demonstrating the role that legal education played in upward mobility for some. It discusses his political and governmental activities, and his close relationship with Governor Lehman. It illustrates how one becomes a district judge, but also can fail in securing promotion to the Circuit Court of Appeals. But most importantly, the book -- almost more than any other I can think of -- focuses on the values that guided Weinfeld's judicial decision making and his perception of the judicial role. For students of the judicial process, this discussion is a goldmine of invaluable insights, and the author is to be commended for the skill and diligence with which he develops this perspective. At 227 pages of text, the narrative moves along quite nicely; plus there are 54 pages of useful notes. It clearly is the biography that such a great judge deserves.

3 comments about Yield: A Judge's First-year Diary.

1. Judge Law certainly captures your attention through excellent, entertaining writing giving the public a rare glimpse into our legal system. She uses her judge/journalist background to give us a fascinating peek behind-the-bench and at court house politics.
   
   Judge Law's diary of her tumultuous first year on the criminal bench contains marvelous anecdotes of humorous and poignant court room drama. But on a larger scale, Yield also explores the shocking inequities of the Texas criminal court system where judges are elected in often brutal partisan political combat, lawyers who practice before the courts contribute to the judges' political campaigns, and the judges appoint lawyers to represent indigent defendants.
   
   Judge Law dramatically shows why there is a $ sign in Yield's subtitle.



2. Entertaining book?...Not so much if you actually knew the author. I'd have to say that this woman was probably the most inept excuse for a criminal court judge in Harris County Texas in the last 35 years. She did not know criminal court law and "shot from the hip" usually, which got her into trouble with "all" the other presiding judges (15 total)AND The Supreme Court of Texas.
   
   Ms. Law was a traffic court judge before becoming a criminal court judge and did a good job in traffic court. But, she was entirely "out of her league" in criminal court. I sometimes felt sorry for her but normally not for long as she was dealing misery to all who had to be associated with her through her childish, selfish, nature. What judge would require a bailiff to furnish snacks and drinks to juries and not offer reimbursement? ...just to mention 1 of hundreds of instances.
   
   Poor thing kept the post-it notes company in business. Post-it notes reminding her of what the criminal laws were...were stuck all over her bench and chambers. She was advised by the other presiding judges of rules, laws, procedures, in order to avoid embarrassment to the Harris County justice system and possible grounds for appeal. She did not take kindly to "any" criticism as if she was being unfairly persecuted.
   
   I can truthfully say that this lady did not gain the respect of anyone employed in the Harris County Criminal Courts building for her prowess as a criminal courts judge or on a personal basis.
   
   As mentioned earlier ... traffic court was her forte. You should notice that her 1st term as a criminal court judge was her last term as a criminal court judge. Even MADD whom she swayed to promote her election as a criminal court judge was appalled by her actions. And, MADD wrote her off as a mistake.
   
   Read the book but remember the grain of salt.



3. "Yield" is a non-fiction work that reads like a fast-paced action novel. It is a well-written, easy reading account of Judge Janice Law's first year on the Harris County, Texas Criminal Court. Judge Law describes in chilling detail the cold blooded, heartless individuals who frequent the corridors of the Criminal Court system, preying on the innocent as well as the guilty. And those are only the lawyers and judges working the "system" for their own personal gain! Defendants brought before the Criminal Court system for adjudication are often at the mercy of lawyers and judges who should, themselves, be brought up on charges.
   This book is not about individual cases brought before the Criminal Court; it is about the Criminal Court itself and is a stunning indictment of the judicial system in that one Harris County court. One hopes the worst of the lawyers and judges described in this book are no longer practicing their brand of "justice" in Texas, but one is left with the uneasy feeling that politics, power, and money may still trump justice in the Harris County Criminal Court.
   
   This book was a finalist in its category at the Texas Book Festival - Violet Crown awards.