When initially published, The Paper Chase was widely acclaimed as the first novel to realistically describe the experiences of students within American law schools. The film version appeared to sensational reviews, and John Houseman, playing Professor Kingsfield won an Academy Award. Then, with Houseman again playing Kingsfield, The Paper Chase appeared as a television series on CBS. After that, the series in its entirety was re-run as a special on PBS, the first time a commercial American television series had been re-broadcast on public television. Subsequently, The Paper Chase television series was taken over by the cable network Showtime, which continued to produce new episodes. Every year, a theatrical play version of The Paper Chase is produced in regional theatres and schools across the United States. In its many incarnations, The Paper Chase has been one of the most influential books of its generation and has defined law school for millions of Americans.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
About the Author
John Jay Osborn, Jr. graduated from Harvard Law School in 1970. He wrote The Paper Chase while he was a full-time law student. Osborn has clerked for the United States Court of Appeals, practiced law in New York City, and taught at the University of Miami School of Law. Since 1981 he has practiced in the estate-planning field, as well as giving advice and representation to artists and writers. Osborn is the author of four novels and has written episodes for a variety of network television shows. Since 1991 he has been a lecturer at the law school of the University of California at Berkeley.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Glad to Have It Back in Print,
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Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: The Paper Chase (Paperback)
I've been looking for this book for years, since I lost my dog eared copy that was published in conjunction with the television series back in the early 80s. The show was what initially turned me on to the novel, and then I saw the film. If you remember the series, and have seen the film, then the book will offer not that many surprises, and I mean that in a positive way. They follow Osborn's novel pretty faithfully, with the addition, as a reflectionof the time in which they were made, of female students. All three follow the education of first year Harvard law student James Hart, during which time the true test for him is not the grades he will get (as his lover Susan tells him, he is the kind of guy born for law school), but more to the point, will he, as he slaves away to earn those precious A's, lose his...well, heart, his soul, the spark of humanity made up primarily of compassion that seems to be the first casuality of the cut-throat world of the law school. Osborn's book is low-key, is subtle: to its credit, it does not inflate this conflict unrealistically. As in the movie, Hart never loses sight of the ring: the Harvard degree that will make him most likely wealthy and powerful. But the question Osborn presents is how does one get the ring and keep his soul intact? Is it possible? What compromises does it call for? Heady stuff for a little book, but Osborn pulls it off effectively and convincingly.
It's a very very good novel: if you cared for the film, if you remember the travails of Hart and his crew in the series (depicted much more kindly than they are in the book), then you should read the original. It's worth it.
11 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Thirty Years On,
By Kevin Killian (San Francisco, CA United States) - See all my reviews (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER) (TOP 1000 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)
This review is from: The Paper Chase (Paperback)
What a novel! Back then people read it for Osborn's portrait of himself as Jim Hart, the young, idealistic law student, still kind of a do-gooder underneath the long hair. Jim busts his ass trying not just to pass but to excel at Harvard yet runs afoul of the dread Professor Kingsfield, whose course in the bleak Langdell Hall is legendary for being arduous and still finally rewarding. Now, thirty years on, Osborn has attained Kingsfield status himself as he teaches nearby at the law school at USF (University of San Francisco, the Jesuit School here in SF), and students are said to quake outside his office door but, once they encounter his warm smile and kindly handshake, the fear abates.
I hate to disagree with a previous reviewer who said that Osborn's novel is a 1960s revision of a 1940 novel. I don't think so, my friend. You must be getting your facts wrong from someone else. The TV version and the movie version of THE PAPER CHASE fleshed out the rebellious, seductive daughter of Kingsfield, and the movie version was notable for the scene in which Jim was caught in her bed and had to leap out the window is just a pair of boxers to escape the professor's wrath. Harvard, which allowed no women into its law school until the 1950s, was paradoxically proud of its law program, and they say this novel (together with LOVE STORY by Erich Segal) caused the flurry of admissions for Harvard to leap up 200 per cent when it was first published.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
If you loved the movie and the series....,
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This review is from: The Paper Chase (Paperback)
You have to read this book if you loved the movie and the TV show.
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