American Legal Realism [Paperback]

William W. Fisher III (Editor), Morton J. Horwitz (Editor), Thomas A. Reed (Editor)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0195071239 | ISBN-13: 978-0195071238 | Publication Date: October 14, 1993

A comprehensive, in-depth discussion of the most influential movement in American legal history, and one which remains more than fifty years later the subject of lively debate, this collection of readings, written largely between 1900 and 1940, includes works from prominent writers on the subject that have never before been generally available. Introduced and edited by noted scholars in the field, the anthology includes such contributors as Oliver Wendell Holmes, James Thayer, Roscoe Pound, John Chipman Gray, Wesley Hohfeld, Karl Llewellyn, Arthur Corbin, Nathan Issacs, Robert Hale, Harold Laski, Max Radin, and others. With concise biographical notes as well as introductions to provide historical context, each selection addresses a different debate involving Legal Realism. Included is a selective bibliography, making the text valuable to a broad range of scholars.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"[A] highly useful collection....The selections chosen for inclusion, the introductory discussion of each section, and the extensive citations all make this an essential volume for the study of law in American society."--American Studies International

"A very thoughtful selection of pre-Realist and Realist essays with marvelous introductory notes. Not just a useful teaching tool, but a valuable addition to understanding Realism."--Gregory Mark, Chicago-Kent College of Law

"This carefully selected and expertly edited collection of Realist texts should serve both students and their professors very well. It may well become a standard book for legal history courses."--Norman Rosenberg, Macalester College

"Very useful in teaching American legal history."--Louise Halper, Washington and Lee Law School

"Wonderful and very well edited. Every law student should read it."--Eric Lane, Hofstra Law School

"A very helpful collection of well chosen materials."--Ray Forrester, University of California, Hastings

"An excellent collection of materials which will be an invaluable resource in my teaching."--Jeff Powell, Duke University

"High powered stuff!...Well done!"--David Robinson, University of Houston-Downtown

"Comprehensive and rounded."--Thomas G. Barnes, University of California, Berkeley

"Realism remade the landscape of our law; in today's new world of transcendental nonsense, we ignore the Realists at our peril. Too many do, and this book is therefore essential. No one should leave law school without it."--Eben Moglen, Columbia Law School

About the Author

William W. Fisher and Morton J. Horwitz are both at Harvard Law School. Thomas A. Reed is Assistant District Attorney, Norfold County, Massachusetts.

Product Details

• Paperback: 344 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (October 14, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0195071239
• ISBN-13: 978-0195071238
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #238,543 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Useful Compendium of Legal Realist Materials, January 29, 2009

By 

Ronald H. Clark (WASHINGTON, DC USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: American Legal Realism (Paperback)

Periodically, interest seems to rekindle in the Legal Realist movement of the 1930's. Most recently, Wouter de Been, a Dutch scholar, has written "Legal Realism Regained: Saving Realism from Critical Acclaim" (reviewed on Amazon). This group of legal scholars who sought to reorient our thinking toward the nature and role of law, legal reasoning, law and the social science, and the role of legal language includes many names still familiar today: Jermone Frank, Karl Llewellyn, Felix Cohen, William O. Douglas, Max Radin, Thurman Arnold and many, many more. The Legal Realists are usually a topic in political science and law school courses on legal philosophy and legal history. This reader is designed to complement these courses and to make key material much more easily accessible. Following a brief introduction to the topic, eight chapters focusing on different aspects of the Realists. Each chapter has its own brief introduction by the editors. And important topics are the focus of these chapters: antecedents (Holmes, Pound, Hohfeld); struggle over meaning (Pound, Llewellyn); contracts (Corbin); the "public/private distinction" (Hale, Jaffe, Cohen); legal reasoning (Hutcheson, Dewey, Cardozo, and Frank); law and social science (Brandeis, Hoebel, Cook, and Moore); and finally legal education and scholarship (Oliphant, Arnold and Rodell). Like any reader, this one suffers from some structural problems: the introductions are concise and not extensive; the articles (while being some of the most important examples of Realism) are limited to extracts; and one can always quibble that too much space was given to certain articles and insufficient extracts are included for others. But all in all, this is a very fine collection. Each introduction has footnoted additional references, and there is a fine bibliography although somewhat dated since the book was compiled in 1993. This book will remain of great value as long as the topic of Legal Realism is alive and kicking.