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5.0 out of 5 stars
An Excellent book, January 12, 2010
This review is from: And the Walls Came Tumbling Down: Greatest Closing Arguments Protecting Civil Liberties (Paperback)
This remarkable book will bring to vivid life the circumstances and people by which and by whom were created much of the law that defines present-day America. The intense and painful struggles endured by certain remarkable individuals comes brilliantly to life and presents the reader with a strong, you-are-there feeling of participation as far-reaching decisions, and the events that lead up to them, unfold.
So much of what passes for American history is in reality but myth and folklore. This book, however, shines a revealing and powerful light on the actual events, strips them of myth, and reveals the compelling and very human nature of their origins. History you may have thought dry and boring, devoid of interest or reality, springs to life in a way that fascinates as it educates. Dry, dead names, memorized by rote for regurgitation on history tests regarding which you never saw the sense or point, become three-dimensional, living, breathing people whose actions compel, whose deeds fascinate, whose stories give you to see not only the great changes brought about by these people, but why those changes were necessary. What previously existed as preposterous law and backward, absurd belief in practice, have been transformed into the rights we foolishly may take for granted today, perhaps equally foolishly assuming they have, in some form, always existed. This book shows vividly the way things really were in America, a fact that, by means of its graphic portrayal, helps us all the more to appreciate things as they are. So much of what so many believe to be things that "couldn't happen here" not only did, but did so in abundance, and would likely be happening right now were it not for the remarkable persons so marvelously and vibrantly given new breath in this book. Whether you are studying law, working in law, or seek only to be an exceptionally informed American, this book is a must. It is riviting, fast-paced, and reads like a particularly well-written novel, only better; you come away with a strong understanding of, and deep appreciation for, the people who fought incredible odds and fierce, mass ignorance to secure for us the America that may well not have been so without them. I cannot recommend this book highly enough, nor can I overstate the value of the other two books in the series, "The Devil's Advocates --Great Closing Arguments in Criminal Law", and "Ladies and Gentlemen of the Jury -- Greatest Closing Arguments in Modern Law". All are written with the same fast-moving, reader-involving style, filled with fact, and will utterly destory any idea you may have that history of necessity must be boring. I sincerely hope that these brilliant authors, Michael S Lief and H. Mitchell Caldwell, are planning to bring out more such works.
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