Customer Reviews

Legal Spectator & More

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I've been reading Jacob Stein's essays for many years in the Washington Lawyer. He has put many of his favorites in this very enjoyable book (you can also see many of his essays on the web).

Not all of the essays are about lawyers directly, but most relate to Washington, DC and all are based on his experiences, ranging from literature, through "An Evening with Louis Armstrong" to popular culture.

This is a great gift for anyone who loves the law, Washington, or good writing by a Washington raconteur.

"Writing in the first person and sounding very much the after-dinner raconteur, Stein tells stories that connect lawyers to their ups, downs, fears, quirks, ironies, history, and even such unlikely subjects as the French Impressionists. What is so refreshing is that, unlike other big-name lawyers in Stein's elevated loft, he is ever the self-effacing narrator and eschews any mention of his own courtroom triumphs. ... What makes this collection so fascinating is that it is not limited to lawyers, judges and courtrooms. Indeed, Stein treats us to a delightful series of essays about such figures as Bing Crosby, Peter Arno, Franz Kafka, George M. Cohan, Somerset Maugham, Winston Churchill, and Ernest Hemingway."

-- Peter D. Baird, Litigation, Fall 2004