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Narrated by Ella Dershowitz, Alan Dershowitz
Alan DershowitzUnabridged — 21 hours, 24 minutes
Narrated by Ella Dershowitz, Alan Dershowitz
Alan DershowitzUnabridged — 21 hours, 24 minutes
Dershowitz is at his best in his terse, elegantly argued chapters on doctrine, especially free speech, criminal law, human rights law and the death penalty. These are short master classes in how to teach law to ordinary Americans.
09/02/2013
Dershowitz, Frankfurter Professor of Law at Harvard, is one of the most high-profile lawyers in America, known for his work on newsworthy criminal cases, including the defense of Claus von Bülow, who was accused of killing his socialite wife. Dershowitz presented the defense’s appeals in the murder trial of DuPont heir John DuPont, as well as in Mike Tyson’s rape case. Outside the criminal arena, he has had a hand in cases involving false confessions, the right of self-defense for battered women, obscenity cases, and assisted suicide. In the course of Dershowitz’s book, several things become apparent: he is smart, he knows he is smart, and he wants readers to know he is smart. The emphasis he places on his own importance can be off-putting and his habit of illuminating noteworthy issues through the prism of his own egotism distracts from his message. That said, he raises provocative questions about the many dilemmas in modern American jurisprudence, including those related to the separation of church and state, affirmative action, human rights, and the right to privacy. All in all, Dershowitz offers much of interest despite overestimating his own role in many events. (Oct.)
The list of legal issues and controversies that bear Dershowitz’s thumbprints is breathtaking. That one man involved himself in the Pentagon Papers case, the Clinton-Lewinsky scandal, Kennedy’s Chappaquiddick investigation, Sharansky’s release from a Soviet prison, the O.J. trial, Bush v. Gore, the Mike Tyson rape case, the Woody Allen-Mia Farrow custody dispute, the Julian Assange WikiLeaks investigation and the public debate over Trayvon Martin, reflects not just the breadth of Dershowitz’s experience but also its depth and duration. Love him or hate him, Dershowitz has lived a life that matters, hugely and enduringly. He is a man in full at a time when most of us aspire to be little more than a presence on Twitter.”—The New York Times Book Review
“Dershowitz commands the stage. . . . He fills his book to overflowing with fascinating and funny vignettes involving his cases and clients, and probing and provocative insights into contemporary legal controversies, ranging from censorship to civil rights, national security, sexual harassment, rape, abortion, the separation of church and state, and the use of scientific evidence in murder cases. Whether he is discussing people or policies, he leaves no doubt about where he stands.”—Glenn C. Altschuler, The Boston Globe
“Riveting, compelling, touching, and tender.”—The Jewish Voice
“One of the most distinguished lawyers of his generation reflects on his life and extraordinary career. . . . Dershowitz has become an important voice with an active role in the evolution of American law, touching on an astonishing breadth of issues, including capital punishment, affirmative action, pornography, national security, academic freedom and human rights. An engaging recounting of a life of serious purpose and splendid flair.”—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
“From his experience on the front lines of so many pivotal cases in recent history, Professor Dershowitz made the law real for his students. He effortlessly translated how our most basic philosophical principles are alive and well in the modern justice system. In doing so, he underscored not just a commitment to equity and integrity, but a deep faith in the power of the law to make our country more honest and fair.”—Congressman Joe Kennedy III
“I loved this book. If I could trade lives with anyone, Dershowitz would be high on my list, minus the death threats and tchotchkes.”—Larry David
“Alan Dershowitz’s real life use of science to win murder cases rivals anything on CSI and any other fictional drama. Cheers for a riveting autobiography.”—Ted Danson
“Alan Dershowitz’s autobiography is a page-turning story of a special life. It exposes and explains as only he can important events of the last fifty years of The American Experience. Dershowitz has been a player contributing to the national conversation for half a century. Everybody takes his calls.”—Stephen Trachtenberg, president, George Washington University
10/15/2013
Successfully writing an engaging memoir cannot be a contrived undertaking. Such writing involves not only documenting a series of interesting events and accomplishments in one's life, but it must also be structured to flow like a conversation. One should not expect anything less when reading the memoir of notable law professor Dershowitz (Chutzpah), an experienced author of articles, essays, and books over the last half century. From beginning to end, this memoir is both entertaining and enlightening. We see a young and inquisitive Dershowitz continually arguing with the authority figures in his early life, never satisfied with the answer, "just because." It's not surprising that he eventually studies law. Dershowitz uses his experiences to relate some very important points: the necessity of defending civil rights, the proper application of scientific evidence, and doing all that one reasonably can to help a client. Like William M. Kunstler's My Life as a Radical Lawyer, Dershowitz's book uses anecdotes as well as his involvement in specific cases to create an interesting account. VERDICT Since this memoir contains references to certain legal principles, it is highly recommended to both students of law and practicing lawyers.—Chad Clark, Lamar State Coll. Lib., Port Arthur, TX
Alan Dershowitz is one of the great lawyers of our time—and one of the most controversial. (He defended Mike Tyson and Patty Hearst, among others.) In this audiobook, Dershowitz neither avoids nor candy-coats his views on his career and the cases he has handled, including his representation of some of society’s least popular people and causes. It’s unlikely that listeners will change their views after hearing Dershowitz’s perspective, which he offers in convincing fashion. However, listeners will be surprised, and disappointed, by the decision to have the author read only the introduction; Ella Dershowitz, his daughter, is the narrator of the main text. The production itself has a distinct echo, making the choice of a female narrator, with a somewhat hollow voice, even less engaging. D.J.S. © AudioFile 2014, Portland, Maine
★ 2013-09-01
One of the most distinguished lawyers of his generation reflects on his life and extraordinary career. Readers acquainted only with Dershowitz's TV persona will likely be surprised by the keen sense of humor, the graciousness offered opponents (with a few notable exceptions), and the tenderness toward family, friends and mentors the controversial law professor reveals here. They'll surely recognize the outsized ego and the passionate, full-throated advocacy of the many and varied legal causes with which he's so often identified. This memoir opens with an account of his Brooklyn boyhood, his undistinguished high school years, his intellectual awakening at college and his flowering at Yale Law School. After clerking for the legendary Judge David Bazelon and then for Arthur Goldberg on the U.S. Supreme Court, Dershowitz (The Trials of Zion, 2010, etc.) became the youngest full professor ever at Harvard Law School. For more than four decades, he has used this perch to teach, write and speak about the law's intersections with science and psychiatry and especially about matters pertaining to constitutional and criminal law. Most unusually for a law professor, Dershowitz has maintained a highly active appellate practice, and he narrates the rest of his life in the law through the many cases he's handled. Many of these unfailingly interesting tales feature high-profile clients like Leona Helmsley, O.J. Simpson, Mike Tyson and Bill Clinton. Dershowitz bristles, though, at being labeled merely a celebrity lawyer, and he reminds us of the many obscure defendants whose cases he accepted pro bono due to the important legal questions raised. Best known in recent years as a stout defender of Israel, Dershowitz has become an important voice with an active role in the evolution of American law, touching on an astonishing breadth of issues, including capital punishment, affirmative action, pornography, national security, academic freedom and human rights. An engaging recounting of a life of serious purpose and splendid flair.
| BN ID: | 2940169264562 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Penguin Random House |
| Publication date: | 10/15/2013 |
| Edition description: | Unabridged |
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Excerpted from "Taking the Stand"
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Copyright © 2013 Alan M. Dershowitz.
Excerpted by permission of Crown/Archetype.
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