The ABA Journal published a list of books lawyers said they would recommend to other lawyers. So I have some questions for you. My answers are in parentheses.
- How many of these books have you read? (Two).
- What books are missing from this list? (Anything by Earle Stanley Gardner (Perry Mason); his stories were part of the reason I became a lawyer. Also, To Kill a Mockingbird, also suggested by others. Also, see question number 4 below).
- Why are so many of the books on this list so. . . heavy-duty? (It’s the ABA).
- Why are there no books on marketing or making a living as an attorney? (It’s the ABA).
Many readers thought there should be a simple list of all of the books, instead of the awkward way the list is formatted on the site. Thanks to a helpful reader, here is the list:
- My Life In Court by Louis Nizer
- Colossus: Â Hoover Dam and the Making of the American Century by Michael Hiltzik
- 1861: Â The Civil War Awakening by Adam Goodheart
- The Story of My Life by Clarence Darrow
- Flourish: Â A Visionary New Understanding of Happiness and Well-Being by Martin E.P. Seligman
- And the Dead Shall Rise: The Murder of Mary Phagan and the Lynching of Leo Frank by Steve Oney
- Personal History by Katharine Graham
- Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison
- Cleopatra: A Life by Stacy Schiff
- The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
- Leadership on the Federal Bench: The Craft and Activism of Jack Weinstein by Jeffrey B. Morris
- My Personal Best: Life Lessons from an All-American Journey by John Wooden with Steve Jamison
- The Death and Life of Great American Cities by Jane Jacobs
- The Horse’s Mouth by Joyce Cary
- In the Shadow of the Law by Kermit Roosevelt
- One L: The Turbulent True Story of a First Year at Harvard Law School by Scott Turow
- Simple Justice: The History of Brown v. Board of Education and Black America’s Struggle for Equality by Richard Kluger
- The Man to See by Evan Thomas
- The End of Anger: A New Generation’s Take on Race and Rage by Ellis Cose
- Justice Accused: Antislavery and the Judicial Process by Robert M. Cover
- Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ by Daniel Goleman
- A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest J. Gaines
- The Legal Analyst: A Toolkit for Thinking about the Law by Ward Farnsworth
- Cry, the Beloved Country by Alan Paton
- A Nation of Immigrants by John F. Kennedy
- Respect for Acting by Uta Hagen and Haskel Frankel
- The Trial by Franz Kafka
- Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide by Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn
- Justice for All: Earl Warren and the Nation He Made by Jim Newton
- Civility: Manners, Morals and the Etiquette of Democracy by Stephen L. Carter
In my opinion, this is a list of books one might recommend to someone thinking of becoming a lawyer, not a list for lawyers. We already drank the Koolaid; give us something to read that will make us happy we did.
