No comments about La Linea Del Horizonte/ Horizon's Line.

No comments about The Autobiographical Notes of Charles Evans Hughes (Studies in Legal History).

No comments about Renegade Lawyer: The Life of J.L. Cohen (Osgoode Society for Canadian Legal History).

No comments about Wise Counsel.

No comments about The Goldfish Being the Confessions of a Successful Man.

No comments about New Deal Justice.

4 comments about Shark Tales: True (and Amazing) Stories from America's Lawyers.

1. Lawyers don't have the reputation of being particularly funny. This comes from the requirement that lawyers maintain a stern or inscrutable demeanor when a witness splits his pants wide open leaving the witness stand. However in lawyer bars across the land, alone with our own kind( don't ask ), lawyers tell "war stories," collected here by Ron Liebman.

   Parts of this book, my own contribution excepted, are truly funny. Imagine the elder statesman of a major firm, addressing a gaggle of Japanese businessmen (prospective clients no less) in Tokyo, by reminiscing about the last time he had seen the city... from the air... as a World War II bomber pilot...or join the young lawyer trying his first case watching as a juror suddenly exits the jury box during his closing argument. Theyoung man's mouth might still be agape had not his more senior colleague rose to say "Personally Judge I didn't think he was that bad."

   OK, so Jay Leno is in no trouble here, but if you are at all curious about what we really talk about, Liebman let's you know.




2. This is a quick read, and some of the funny stories will make you chuckle -- if not laugh -- out loud. But, sadly, there is a lot of unfunny filler--tales of young lawyers whose representation of their trusting clients was poor indeed. Moreover, some of the material--the amusing excerpts from court and deposition transcripts--come from a book published by a court-reporter association ("Disorder in the Court") and have been on the internet rounds for so long that the excerpts have fairly heavy beards.

   Perhaps the most poignant selection, however, is the recollection by a South Carolina lawyer of his lawyer-father's observation that the more a thief stole the better he was treated by the court and the more lenient his punishment--ranging from the ... crook to the ... embezzler. That tale, of course, echoes, sadly, what the law is all about: summarized by Swift centuries ago when he said that the law was like a cobweb that ensnared small flies but let the hornets through.

   All in all, Shark Tales is worth the flitting moments of time it takes to read.




3. Thios book is one that has many entertaining stories, as well as some that are just plain insignificant and stupid. The author uses every story he could get his hands on that has some lement of humor ow interesting facts and puts it in the book. However, while many of the stories are outrageously funny, a majority are just filler.

   One aspect that made this book easy to read was that the book is composed of over 50 very short "tales" or stories about individual incidents. You can read a story and read another one a week later and you haven't missed anything. It is entertaining but not very informative.

   If you are looking for a fun and quick read, this book will help fulfill those needs. It does provide some insight into the behind the scenes of the legal profession. If you are looking for a real in-depth look at how lawyers work, this is not the book for you.

   An entertaining and casual read, but not very informative. Just three stars but a fun book.




4. This book is one that has many entertaining stories, as well as some that are just plain insignificant and stupid. The author uses every story he could get his hands on that has some element of humor or interesting facts and puts it in the book. However, while many of the stories are outrageously funny, a majority are just filler.

   One aspect that made this book easy to read was that the book is composed of over 50 very short "tales" or stories about individual incidents. This is why I refer to this book as a bathroom read. You can read a story and read another one a week later and you haven't missed anything. It is entertaining but not very informative.

   If you are looking for a fun and quick read, this book will help fulfill those needs. It does provide some insight into the behind the scenes of the legal profession. If you are looking for a real in-depth look at how lawyers work, this is not the book for you.

   An entertaining and casual read, but not very informative. Just three stars but a fun book.

No comments about Memoirs Of A Judge.

No comments about John Rawls (International Library of Essays in the History of Social and Political Thought).

1 comments about Tocqueville: A Biography.

1. This is a wonderful biography. I knew that Tocqueville was a great thinker, but I thought that his life would be boring (are thoughts worth being told? Yes, this book indeed proves it). However, the author manages to narrate Tocqueville's life and times in such a way that I could not put it down, and read it in less than a week's time. So I may not think of a better book to commemorate Tocqueville's bicentennial anniversary and I fully agree and endorse, as my own, the other reviewer's opinion.