Bramble Bush: On Our Law and Its Study [Paperback]

K. N. Llewellyn (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 1981 | ISBN-10: 0379000733 | ISBN-13: 978-0379000733

For over 70 years, prospective and enrolled law students have been assigned to read a text that prepares them what they are about to encounter. That text is Bramble Bush.

This classic answers questions that all students have when starting law school, and virtually takes them inside the classroom like no other text. It gives factual examples, detailed information, and practical explanations.

Bramble Bush is required reading in numerous law schools and is recommended by many Law School Deans. An outgrowth of Professor Llewellyn's introductory lectures at Columbia University School of Law, Bramble Bush continues to be the best introduction to the study of law for both potential and enrolled law students.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"...A brilliant survey for students and lawyers of what law is and what legal education does and can do to make a man a lawyer." -- Erwin N. Griswold, Former Dean of Harvard Law School

"...Contains the best introductory lectures... not merely outline the dry bones of law... but... create impressions, some of which, at least, will stick a long time." -- Professor Arthur L. Corbin, Columbia University

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

From Chapter One, What Law is About

You have come to this school to embark upon the study of the law. Most of you have in the back of your heads an idea that as a result of that study you will become lawyers. Some of you have some notion of what it is that a lawyer does. You think of a man who tries cases before the courts. Or do you think particularly of a man to whom to turn in case, for any reason, you happen to get arrested? But what a court does, what a lawyer does in court, and what he does outside, what relationship either court or lawyer has to the law, what relation the law school has to any of these things -- around these things, I take it, there floats a pleasant haze. If it were not pleasant, you would not be here. Perhaps you would not, if there were no haze.

What I propose to do is to take up successively a series of questions. First, and today, what is this law about, which you propose to study? Second, and tomorrow, what is the machinery for going about this study; what are you going to have to do in this school and how can you best go about doing it? Third, what are the opportunities that the school offers and what are some of the ways of their solution? And lastly, how does the study of the law here bear upon the work that you will do and the life that you will live when you leave this school and go into practice?

Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Oceana Publications, Inc. (June 1, 1981)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0379000733
• ISBN-13: 978-0379000733
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #294,917 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A CLASSIC, February 3, 2000

By 

Student Starting Law School Next Fall (Appleton, Wisconsin) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bramble Bush: On Our Law and Its Study (Paperback)

Written over 70 years ago, Bramble Bush is still THE book recommended for students to read just prior to beginning classes or early in their first semester of law school. Be prepared to read passages over again due to the author's 1920's style of sentence composition, but also be prepared for an enjoyable 200 pages of insight into the U.S. system of common law, case /precedence law, and most importantly, advice and guidance for 1L, 2L, and 3L (law) students.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars The fun is in seeing what's dated, October 26, 2005

By 

J. Gunter (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Bramble Bush: On Our Law and Its Study (Paperback)

Professor Llewellyn's distinguished collection of lectures is best used nowadays, in my opinion, as a baseline to see what has changed in the legal profession and what has not. Llewellyn's discussion of the case system is a terrific look at the judge's toolbox, but law students today cannot rely on a deep understanding of the case system to become good lawyers -- the proliferation of other forms of law, particularly statutory and administrative law, is too great. On the other hand, Llewellyn's extreme statement of the legal realist position -- still only one competing theory of law when he gave his lectures -- is now the undisputed champion of the legal discipline, and it's fascinating to travel back to a time when the author felt the need to be an apologist for it. The chapters that stand up best, in my opinion, are the ones discussing the dilemma of siding with the powerful after graduation; this is a topic that only becomes more timely as expenses rise and the pressure to join Big Law grows for new law graduates. I would especially recommend this book for casual students of legal history or jurisprudence.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Standing the test of time....., January 19, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Bramble Bush: On Our Law and Its Study (Paperback)

I actually felt myself getting smarter while reading this book. Outside of just covering "technicalities" of studying law, he also offers a fascinating perspective on the study and practice of law in relation to the lawyer's life (money/finc. security as primary motive for entering legal profession.) Also interesting are his views on making/missing law review and the effect this has on 2Ls. Overall, an excellent read, time well spent, and very deserving of the word "classic."