v. Goliath: The Trials of David Boies [Kindle Edition]

Karen Donovan (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

As Donovan shows in this insightful biography (a notable counterpoint to Boies's own recently published autobiography, Courting Justice), power attorney David Boies has been at the fulcrum of the culture of legal celebrities for 20 years. Best known as the lawyer who represented the Democratic Party and Al Gore during the 2000 postelection battle, Boies has been involved in other high-profile cases: he represented the U.S. Justice Department in its suit against Microsoft, and CBS when it was sued by Gen. William Westmoreland. Donovan, a former attorney and editor at the National Law Journal, underscores Boies's brilliant mind, his ability to work long hours and his gift for persuasion. But Donovan, who tracked Boies with his approval, also knocks the lawyer off his pedestal, exposing the "myth" that he spearheaded IBM's defense in the 1975 U.S. v. IBM. Tracking Boies's losses as well as victories (and noting some disingenuousness when, in losing the Napster case, he blamed the judge), Donovan highlights such struggles as a bias case brought by several women staffers against his law firm, which was settled. Donovan seems to believe he's too cozy with members of the media who report on him and that he basks rather too much in the media's glow. While sometimes focusing on irrelevant personal details, she offers a sure, skeptical account of Boies's rise to the top of the legal realm. (Feb. 8)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review

“A complex portrait. . . . Donovan was given extraordinary access to Mr. Boies, and it paid off.” —The New York Sun

“Incisive. . . . [An] invaluable depiction of a man as complicated and contradictory as he is gifted.” —New York Law Journal

“Insightful. . . . A sure, skeptical account of Boies’s rise to the top of the legal realm.” —Publishers Weekly

“Here a colorful life takes on some color [with Donovan’s] significant access to Boies and his inner circle.” —Los Angeles Times


From the Trade Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Format: Kindle Edition
• File Size: 367 KB
• Print Length: 384 pages
• Page Numbers Source ISBN: 0375726551
• Publisher: Pantheon (February 8, 2005)
• Sold by: Random House Digital, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B000FCJXTW
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #211,638 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
  • #11 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Nonfiction > Professional & Technical > Law > Procedures & Litigation > Litigation
  • #11 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Nonfiction > Law > Procedures & Litigation > Litigation
  • #13 in Books > Law > Current Affairs

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Author captures essence of multi tasking trial lawyer, March 10, 2005

By 

David L. White - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: v. Goliath: The Trials of David Boies (Hardcover)

Most of pieces of Boies border on idolatry. Donovan's work is special because although she clearly admires Boies and his work, she also points out his faults. The best reading in the book includes her digging behind the scenes to reveal what really happens in trials, settlements, and negotiations. While Boies is obviously one of the top trial lawyers in America, he often gets credit for things which are actually the result of other events. Donovan captures this wonderfully.

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Inside Scoop, March 24, 2005

By 

New York Bookie (New York, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: v. Goliath: The Trials of David Boies (Hardcover)

In this insightful and yeomanly researched book, Karen Donovan paints a vivid picture of a man who has achieved iconic status among America's trial lawyers. Thanks to the access granted the author by David Boies, we get not only a ringside seat for some of the last decade's most high-profile trials, including, of course, the one that put the current occupant of the White House in office, but we're there for pre-trial strategy sessions and post-trial dinners as well. Throughout, Donovan maintains a keen-eyed objectivity and isn't afraid to deflate balloons of bravado when need be. All in all, it's a compelling read.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Thoroughly engaging, January 8, 2008

By 

--S (New York, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: v. Goliath: The Trials of David Boies (Kindle Edition)

Karen Donovan's book is something of a biography, a Grisham novel, a history book, and a litigation primer all wrapped into one. (As a litigator, I'm actually thinking that some of the strategies related in the book would be helpful for me in court.) Thoroughly engaging and entertaining, Ms. Donovan has a great deal of respect for her subject's talents but is careful not to gloss over his significant flaws.