After surveying top profile lawyers, selected jurists, and law professors/deans, here is what the participants listed as being their 30 top books for lawyers (no ranking, just a list of what each participant thought was important reading for attorneys):
1. Louis Nizer, “My Life In Court.”
2. Michael Hiltzik, “Colossus: Hoover Dam and the Making of the American Century.”
3 . Adam Goodheart, “1861: The Civil War Awakening.”
4. Clarence Darrow, “The Story of My Life.”
5. Martin E.P. Seligman, “Flourish.”
6. Steve Oney, “And the Dead Shall Rise: The Murder of Mary Phagan and Lynching of Leo Frank.”
7. Katharine Graham, “Personal History.”
8. Ralph Ellison, “Invisible Man.”
9. Stacy Schiff, “Cleopatra.”
10. Antoine de Saint-Exuperay, “The Little Prince.”
11. Jeffrey B. Morris, “Leadership on the Federal Bench: The Craft and Activism of Jack Weinstein.”
12. John Wooden, “My Personal Best.”
13. Jane Jacobs, “The Death and Life of Great American Cities.”
14. Joyce Cary, “The Horse’s Mouth.”
15. Kermit Roosevelt, “In the Shadow of the Law.”
16. Scott Turow, “One L: The Turbulent True Story of a First Year at Harvard Law School.”
17. Richard Kluger, “Simple Justice: The History of Brown v. Board of Education and Black America’s Struggle for Equality.”
18. Evan Thomas, “The Man to See: Biography of Legendary Trial Attorney Edward Bennett Williams.”
19. Ellis Case, “The End of Anger: A New Generation’s Take on Race and Rage.”
20. Robert M. Cover, “Justice Accused: Antislavery and the Judicial Process.”
21. Daniel Goleman, “Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ.”
22. Ernest J. Gaines, “A Lesson Before Dying.”
23. Ward Farnsworth, “The Legal Analyst: A Toolkit for Thinking About the Law.”
24. Alan Paton, “Cry, the Beloved Country.”
25. John F. Kennedy, “A Nation of Immigrants.”
26. Uta Hagen, “Respect for Acting.”
27. Franz Kafka, “The Trial.”
28. Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn, “Half the Sky: Turning Oppression Into Opportunities For Women Worldwide.”
29. Jim Newton, “Justice For All: Earl Warren and the Nation He Made.”
30. Stephen L. Carter, “Civility: Manners, Morals, and the Etiquette of Democracy.”
With that, we wish all of our readers and followers a Happy New Year!