5 comments about Fight Back and Win: My Thirty-Year Fight Against Injustice--And How You Can Win Your Own Battles.

1. Just a venue for further self-aggrandizement. Gloria Allred has made her self rich by taking on such villians as childrens haircutting salons who charged different rates for boys and girls and fast food restaurants who's employees refuse to hand out discount coupons. In the process she is millionaire sucking money out of her victims forcing them to settle rather than endure long drawn out court proceedings and bad publicity.
   
   And in the end her clients get a pittance in settlements and she is a millionaire. I would be curious to see where her clients are today. Way to go Gloria. Your legacy is undeniable. You are everything that gives lawyers a bad name.



2. A MUST READ FOR ALL*****
   GLORIA ALLRED HAS ACHIEVED WORLD RECOGNITION FOR HER PURSUIT OF JUSTICE AND EQUALITY*****
   HER BOOK SHOULD BE 'REQUIRED READING' FOR ALL.



3. Thank You Gloria Allred!
   Well written and great insight! She reminds us all of the great challenges women have to overcome to achieve equal status in our society.
   I would vote for HER for President of the United States in an instant!



4. I have watched this lady on CourtTV for a few years now and she is really amazing. Her book is great! She shows what ANYONE can do with a little perserverance to make changes. She explains how people think that powerful people are the only ones who can make changes, but this is not so according to Gloria. Just keep pushing and go higher and higher to the top until you get results. :)



5. I listened to the 1st third of the CD version of this book and thought it was a waste of time. I expected a more interesting and comprehensive work from such an accomplished person. I am familiar with Gloria Allred and was looking forward to gaining insight in her thoughts and legal accomplishments.
   
   In my opinion she tried to cover too much. I wish she would have covered fewer cases with far greater depth. Much of the historical background, legal complexities, human factors and contemporary context were left out. Each case that I listened to degenerated into my cause is rightous and anyone who is against me is wrong.
   
   I was expecting more.

No comments about Patriots and Cosmopolitans: Hidden Histories of American Law.

No comments about The Soft Vengeance of a Freedom Fighter, New Edition.

3 comments about v. Goliath: The Trials of David Boies.

1. Most of pieces of Boies border on idolatry. Donovan's work is special because although she clearly admires Boies and his work, she also points out his faults. The best reading in the book includes her digging behind the scenes to reveal what really happens in trials, settlements, and negotiations. While Boies is obviously one of the top trial lawyers in America, he often gets credit for things which are actually the result of other events. Donovan captures this wonderfully.



2. In this insightful and yeomanly researched book, Karen Donovan paints a vivid picture of a man who has achieved iconic status among America's trial lawyers. Thanks to the access granted the author by David Boies, we get not only a ringside seat for some of the last decade's most high-profile trials, including, of course, the one that put the current occupant of the White House in office, but we're there for pre-trial strategy sessions and post-trial dinners as well. Throughout, Donovan maintains a keen-eyed objectivity and isn't afraid to deflate balloons of bravado when need be. All in all, it's a compelling read.



3. Karen Donovan's book is something of a biography, a Grisham novel, a history book, and a litigation primer all wrapped into one. (As a litigator, I'm actually thinking that some of the strategies related in the book would be helpful for me in court.) Thoroughly engaging and entertaining, Ms. Donovan has a great deal of respect for her subject's talents but is careful not to gloss over his significant flaws.

2 comments about The Great Justices, 1941-54: Black, Douglas, Frankfurter, and Jackson in Chambers.

1. This book is comprised of profiles of four leading Supreme Court Justices during the (roughly) 1940's through 1970's period. The author suggests he is dissatisfied with judicial biographies because they do not focus on the "dual nature" of the Court--i.e., the Court speaking through not only majority opinions but also via the individual justices involved in contributing to its opinions. Instead, the author posits the idea of "assessment-seeking judicial profiles" as a superior technique.
   
   The author's approach is highly biographical, with some attention to substantive legal developments, and heavy emphasis is placed upon patterns of interaction, agreement, and dissention. Each profile runs around 40 pages. Domnarski pays particular attention to the language of opinions, a task for which he is eminently qualified given his previous important work, "In the Opinion of the Court," which analyzed opinion patterns. I found that this perspective added considerable value to his discussion. After all, opinions are more than just words, but constitute attempts at persuasion and justification as well as explanation.
   
   The profiles vary in quality and impact. One problem is that so much has been written already about Black, Frankfurter, and Douglas. As a result, I found the Black and Frankfurter profiles, while interesting, did not provide new information or perspectives on the Justices. The profile of Robert Jackson, however, is quite impressive, since so little real analysis of Jackson has been written. Students of Jackson await the promised new biography of him by John Q. Barrett since a suitable judicial biography has been lacking up to this point. Domnarski has dug deeply in the record and produced quite a perceptive portrait of Jackson, though one that is perhaps too critical. It is hard to believe that Jackson became much more conservative and combative (as to Black and Douglas) after he was passed over by Truman to be Chief Justice and that this affected his voting patterns. We shall have to await Barrett's analysis to consider this thesis.
   
   I found the strongest profile to be, surpringly, that of William O. Douglas. Here the author had to face the problem of so much already having been written on WOD. Nonetheless, he has produced one of the most interesting discussions of Douglas that I am aware has appeared anywhere. His reliance upon the Douglas/Walter Murphy oral history interviews, done in the early 1960's, is highly effective; it is delightful to discover that all these transcripts are available on the internet. While Douglas certainly had his shortcomings, he stands pretty tall after Domnarski's analysis.
   
   The research is quite solid; the notes extensive; an appendix of voting agreement/disagreement statistics is helpful as well. I think the principal value of the book is for those not familiar with the existing literature on the four justices, because each study packs a lot of information and understanding into a relatively brief amount of space. But even experienced Court watchers can benefit from the author's perceptive discussion of Douglas and especially his suggestive analysis of Jackson.



2. A short book that falls between pure court history and pure judicial biography. It is for readers deeply interested in the U.S. Supreme Court as an institution, and highlights four famous justices as they interacted in a period now over a half-century past. Using this time and these justices, William Domnarski gives his view on how the high court really works.
   
   Douglas is given the highest marks, with Black, Frankfurter, and Jackson all found wanting in balance. The degree of national elective office political ambition alive then on the court will be a surprise to those more familiar with present day standards--as will the degree of animosity amongst the Brethren.
   
   While good for anyone in the legal or political science professions, I think most general readers will find this book a journey too deep into an ocean of past constitutional and personal battles.

2 comments about Gleanings from an Unplanned Life: An Annotated Oral History.

1. Besides a very good read of his varied life as a US Senator, US Circuit Judge, US Under Secretary of State, Judge Buckley's memoir is best when he discusses his life after Pearl Harbor. He was all over the South Pacific on an LST (Landing Ship Tank)and his memory of the action in the Battle of Leyte Gulf is amazingly vivid these 60 years later. In more than 2 years at sea, he slept only 5 nights ashore. His fondness and expertise in birds is amazing as well as touching. He comes across as a very humble person. His service to his country is an inspiration. One might ask: how many Yalies go to war now...or in Viet Nam ??????



2. An interesting book, it is based on the transcript of a series of interviews Judge Buckley did in the mid 1990s in connection with a legal oral history project. The book takes the form of a question and answer session, "annotated" by Judge Buckley to clarify and expand upon some of his answers. The book follows Buckley's life from his youth through college, his service in World War II and beyond.
   
   Buckley is the brother of William F. Buckley and as such got caught up in the burgeoning conservative movement in the 1950s and 60s. In 1970, he found himself elected to the Senate as the candidate of the New York Conservative Party, winning a three way race. After being defeated for reelection in 1976, in the early 1980s he joined the Reagan administration, most prominently as president of Radio Free Europe. One of his former campaign volunteers was responsible for finding potential judicial nominees, so Buckley found himself on the DC Circuit, hearing appeals mostly from administrative law issues. Through it all, he found time to raise a large family, help run his family oil business and indulge his love of nature.
   
   What is most fascinating about the book is that all of it was unplanned. While serving in the Pacific during World War II, Buckley decided he really wanted the quiet life of a country lawyer in rural Connecticut. He never got his wish, but seems to have had no regrets. The book is an interesting memoir on one of an obscure, but important, figure in American post-WWII history.

No comments about Crossing Hitler: The Man Who Put the Nazis on the Witness Stand.

5 comments about Black Titan: A.G. Gaston and the Making of a Black American Millionaire.

1. As a child I participated in and won the A.G. Gaston spelling bee on the state level two years in a row (1957-1958). It was a stepping stone for me and enabled me to go on and do more rewarding things as an adult. I remember staying in his motel in Birmingham with my sponsor and god mother, Mrs Tempie Horton. This is a piece of history that I share with my grand kids. My name is (maiden) Lois Jean Scott and I attended Calvary Jr. high school in Huntsville, Alabama. I am grateful for Mr Gaston and his wife, whom I met on several occasions, for giving me this opportunity.



2. Actually most of the information from this book was taken from Green Power ( written by the man himself) and the rest was stretched. Actually, I know the authors. Neither of them truly new him and as far being related, they were nieces only by marriage. I just think they are trying to make a quick buck on something that they know nothing about.



3. This book is AWESOME and a MUST Read! The authors definitely did their research not only about their grandfather, but also about the history/activities that took place during that era. I was so happy that my mentor, recommended this book to our book club. I am a black woman and I NEVER heard about Mr. Gaston. I didn't even know that we had any millionaires and influencers during this time. This book should be a supplement to African American literature, as well as business courses. The Black Titan should be right next to those books written about J. D. Rockerfeller, J. P. Morgan, Andrew Carnegie, Sam Walton, etc.



4. This book is not a civil rights manual and its not guide to getting rich. This book offer a glimpse into the life of a man that was successful in business when Black folk in business was virtually unheard of especially at the level that he operated. If you keep an open mind and read this book you will learn something about the civil rights movement and getting rich.



5. So much of our American history is not taught in our schools, so when we become adults, we must self-study especially contributions of Black Americans. This account of A. G. Gaston's life by his niece and grand-niece is well-paced and informative. Gaston took advantage of every opportunity made available to him and his suberb work ethic allowed him to flourish in many business enterprises. Many of us know a lot about Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., but how many of us know A.G. Gaston was the man who bailed MLK Jr. and others out of the Birmingham jail? This is a must read. I've already ordered copies for my parents and my local library. Enjoy!

2 comments about A Justice for All: William J. Brennan, Jr., and the Decisions That Transformed America.

1. Although few people knew his name, Supreme Court Justice William Brennan became a force of history. Applying his belief that the Constitution and Bill of Rights was written for all Americans, Brennan shaped the nation by attaining majorities is such cases as Roe v. Wade and Texas v. Johnson (flag burning). His legacy is one of justice and equality, of cooperation and liberty, of criminal rights and human rights, of compassion, moral rectitude and courage. If you do not know this man, you do not know the greatest force in constitutional law this American century has ever seen. Kim Eisler, using various sources, opened a window through which every American can see the Court, and one of its most important jurists, in langauge we can all understand. The best book on the Supreme Court (and a supreme Justice) I have ever read.



2. I became interested in Justice Brennan after reading the brilliant book The Brethren by Bob Woodward. Brennan came across as the most interesting Justice in that book (although they all came off as people one would like to read about).
   
   Eisler's book is good, gives a readable account of Brennan's life and accomplishments in and out of the court. I would like to have seen some more opinions on Brennan from other sources after his retirement but apart from that, a good account of a groundbreaking Justice.

5 comments about Courting Justice: From NY Yankees v. Major League Baseball to Bush v. Gore.

1. I was impressed by David Boies during the 2000 Election crisis, especially after reading a Time magazine article on him. When I saw this book, I was immediately interested, but I was apprehensive since I am not a lawyer and I was afraid it would be bogged down in legalese and I wouldn't understand the book. I decided to take a chance, especially because there was a chapter on the Yankees versus Major League Baseball. It turns out that I understood everything Boies wrote. That's because Boies writes very clearly and for everyone, not just lawyers. He explains the details in the cases that are important to understand, the fundamental arguments of both sides, not just the side he was representing, all in an enjoyable way. I found myself even enjoying the chapters on cases I wasn't immediately drawn to, such as "Fixing the Price of Health" (on price fixing in vitamins), and "The Auction House Scandal". Boies also recounts two of his most famous cases: the Microsoft case and Bush vs Gore. I definitely recommend this book.



2. It's hard to imagine that a non-lawyer might enjoy reading about a conspiracy to fix the price of vitamins or the fees charged by auction houses, but I certainly did. Boise is able to distill complicated legal issues into easily understandable terms. The cases range from the above antitrust issues to the more famous Microsoft case to a horrific custody battle to the Bush v. Gore recount fiasco. Boise approaches all with a sense of humor and a clarity of prose.
   
   That having been said, I really felt this book needed some basic editing help. Boise uses footnotes incessantly for things that could and should be included in the text. He also references cases that aren't discussed in the book and then alludes to them in the afterward. Someone should have told him to take those references out --- they make the book a little confusing.
   
   Finally, Boise's ego certainly isn't small. He thinks much of himself, and he probably is entitled to. The first couple of chapters, however, about his rise through the ranks of lawyers to the star he is today, can sometimes be a little much.
   
   I would say perhaps the best reason to read this book is for an inside look at Bush v. Gore. Boies doesn't talk much about hanging chads. He does look carefully at the legal issues -- rather than the more catchy but ill-defined issue of "fairness" -- involved in the Florida recount, and coherently explains why the Gore campaign and the legal team proceeded as they did. Frankly, I wish Boies had written a whole book on this -- it is clearly the best section.



3. David Boies is a true legal superstar and deservedly so. He is probably best known for arguing the losing side in Bush v. Gore to the U.S. Supreme Court. The book is a cross section of what the author believes to be some of his most interesting cases and many of them are. The book is readily accessible to the lay reader. Boies goes out of his way to explain even the simplest and most obvious points of law so that no one need be left behind. His rise to stardom is all the more extraordinary considering he was dyslexic. He glosses over his two failed marriages and we get to meet all the members of his extended family. But what I found curiously missing is David Boies, the man. He is very careful to hide his feelings about virtually everything except for a couple of lawyers. He is an observor of his actions, rather than a participant. His eye is incisive and he misses nothing. But where is he? He never tells you how he feels (sad, angry, happy). It's as if he left a holographic David Boies for you to look at to fool you into thinking it is the real thing. Surely the book is a fascinating look inside one of our great legal minds and well worth reading, but when I finished, I had no idea of what David Boies is really like.



4. In sorting out the various element that contributed to Boeis's distinguished career as a lawyer who gave pride and grace to his profession, I could come up with few, based on his narration of and his broadcasted trials:
   
   1- As a middle class young student, growing up in a racist society in the 1960, he sensed the common suffering as a young parent of two kids, with little resources, with those that confront black Americans. Poverty knows no skin color. Yet, his white skin enabled him to secure modest residence in Chicago after verifying that his wife was also not of the colored race. "Does it matter?" he never got an answer to his question from the nosy residential agent who decided his fate, then. The mere instinct of asking such a question in 1959 when racism was the norm in the American society, shows how liberal young Boeis was for his generation.
   
   2- His financial struggle to raise family and go to school had ruined his first marriage and left him a wounded man. The woman who helped him succeed left him with his two kids. That loss seemed to throw him into a forbidden love with the wife of his evidence professor, which ended by his transfer from Chicago to Yale. His second marriage led him to work in New York, after graduation from law school. Yet, for the same reason of occupational dedication, it ended and a third marriage emerged in Washington DC. It was clear that he learned by mixing with ordinary people and shared their suffering and struggle for survival. His personal struggle went along with his developing clarity, simplicity, and accuracy in his legal reasoning.
   
   3- His adventurous ordeal with the Guatemalan millionaire's ransom sheds more light on his rigorous calculating mind. His two divorces, growing up poor, gambling interests, and mixing with rich and diverse cultures in major American cities and institutions, were all put in action in his playful and foxy litigation with dangerous, arrogant, and powerful opponent, in foreign and lawless country. Though Boeis admits his mistakes in indulging in a lawsuit that burdened his relationship with his family, his profession, and his employer, yet his mind was unsettled. Whether enough justice could be bought by everyone? Or standing to those who subvert justice at the expense of indigent citizens is worth fighting for? He opted to deliver justice and would repeat the same "mistake" in US v. Microsoft and Bush v. Gore. His recognition that lawyers to parties should not act as judges did not quench his zeal for out-of-reach justice.
   
   4- Boies' Guatemalan adventure also demonstrates his stubborn steadfastness that accompanied him since youth and cost him two marriages, yet let to successful profession. His empathy with Mary and her two kids let him overlook the notorious deeds of her callous ex-husband. After trapping a criminal into a federal prison, Boeis ventured into freeing him despite his long and heinous mischiefs. Boies went on to praise the courage of the FBI, criticize few corrupt judges and lawyers, yet forgot his own indulgence in releasing a criminal to freedom for the sake of his millions. The son and daughter of Joey would have better life without his psychotic influence, Mr. Boies!
   
   5- Almost every legal argument he confronted has been approached as a mathematical problem. Boies outlines all possible options to which his arguments could lead to, along with all feasible approaches to each option. That basic logical organization enables him to prepare for fights he never fought and win fights by virtue of his convincing reasoning. His unique and individual stand on principals distinguishes him over the majority of lawyers. Boies acts as an activist for reform and democracy when many lawyers aimed for secure financial winning. He confesses that had not he been a lawyer, he might have been a teacher of History. Making history was his drive to regulate software industry, health care cost, and democratic representation of powerless voters.
   
   6- The simplicity of his reasoning could not be attributed to study alone. In many of his arguments, he adapts to unpredictable responses and arrives to his ultimate goal. In the asbestos case against Grace, he admits that both the court and his opponent failed to catch him leading during direct examination. He had unintentionally improvised his leading questioning to get his witness to open up against his reservation. In the US v. Microsoft, Boeis shows brilliant technical skills unexpected from a non-technical professional. While Gates accused him by being unable to pass high school physics, Boeis quashed the tricks of the top experts of Microsoft when they attempted to fool the court by claiming that Windows and IE are inseparable. The arrogance and shallow mindedness of the software gurus led them to underestimate the diverse interests and skills of an uncanny lawyer.
   
   7- In addition to his growing up among common people and sharing their struggle for making ends meet, his gambling and travel hobbies have enriched his quick problem solving ability. Associating with people at the top of their professional careers, combined with his keen ability to listen and observe, has contributed to priming his deftness. He does not shy from describing himself as an "experienced examiner", which he is.
   
   8- His ultimate secret may be his ability to clearly discern the basic logical blocs of an argument and tie them quickly and neatly within larger frameworks. Few times, he admits exhaustion after examining hard-to-admit witnesses. Yet, he realizes that those tough fighters always admit to more information after embarrassment than they set off to do. On the quality of justice and judges, Boies presents a realistic narration of corrupt as well as honest judges. Consistently, he claims that judges always attempt to be fair even when they sometimes act with exaggerated toughness.
   
   Mohamed F. El-Hewie
   Author of
   Essentials of Weightlifting and Strength Training



5. Trial, like a battle, is a zero-sum game. I thought the author could walk on water until Bush v. Gore. David Boies likes dice throwing, and compares it to litigation. Actually, he feels that analogies to war are overdone.
   
   Deposing Bill Gates in United States v. Microsoft was an opportunity to use the e-mail of the CEO and others in the company against the defendant. The trial of Microsoft had been dubbed the trial of the decade. After the Microsoft trial, Boies embarked upon a suit against Roche, BASF, Rhone-Polenc and others for price-fixing in the vitamin market. The case settled for more than the estimated overcharges.
   
   The auction house business used to be cozy. In 1983 Alfred Taubman purchased Sotheby's. In the late 1990's price-fixing resulted in law suits against Christie's and Sotheby's. There was a run of class-action law suits and, in a bidding processs devised by the court, Boies and his firm became the lead attorneys. The cases settled. It is claimed that litigation may resemble the game Bridge, but negotiation to settle resembles Poker.
   
   When Boies entered the Bush v. Gore matter, Warren Christopher was in charge. A number of days were spent in Florida and the Florida courts. Initially there was jubilation because a recount of the undercounting state-wide was to be commenced. Then Boies learned that the U.S. Supreme Court had stopped the count from going on just prior to the scheduled December 11th hearing before it. The Court failed to show the restraint it had for two hundred years in Bush v. Gore. Justices Kennedy and O'Connor discovered a problem with the Florida procedure on Equal Protection grounds.
   
   Boies's recital of some of the notable cases in his career is never dull.