Read e-book Taking the Stand: My Life in the Law

‘Taking the Stand’ by Alan Dershowitz

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Alan Dershowitz is one of the most famous and celebrated lawyers in America. He is the youngest full professor in school history at Harvard, where he is now the Felix Frankfurter Professor of Law. The author of numerous bestselling books,… More about Alan Dershowitz. Love him or hate him, Dershowitz has lived a life that matters, hugely and enduringly. He is a man in full at a time when most of us aspire to be little more than a presence on Twitter. Whether he is discussing people or policies, he leaves no doubt about where he stands.

He is impossibly, almost self-consciously annoying. Many of these unfailingly interesting tales feature high-profile clients like Leona Helmsley, O. Simpson, Mike Tyson and Bill Clinton…Dershowitz has become an important voice with an active role in the evolution of American law, touching on an astonishing breadth of issues, including capital punishment, affirmative action, pornography, national security, academic freedom and human rights.

An engaging recounting of a life of serious purpose and splendid flair. He effortlessly translated how our most basic philosophical principles are alive and well in the modern justice system. In doing so, he underscored not just a commitment to equity and integrity, but a deep faith in the power of the law to make our country more honest and fair. If I could trade lives with anyone, Dershowitz would be high on my list, minus the death threats and tchotchkes. Cheers for a riveting autobiography. Dershowitz has been a player contributing to the national conversation for half a century.

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This book was a good story on his career, personal life, and his social life in which he has tried to give back: Charles Michener and Peter Duchin. An enjoyable and fascinating read. Sold by Nicolo Ventures and ships from Amazon Fulfillment. Alan Morton Dershowitz is an American lawyer, jurist, and political commentator. He then goes on to discuss his controversial criminal defense cases no, he does tell us if he believes that O. Upside is Alan is thoughtful on many subjects dealing with law, and he does tell some inside stories of some the biggest celebrities of the last 30 years.

Everybody takes his calls. Buy the Audiobook Download: Apple Audible downpour eMusic audiobooks. Add to Cart Add to Cart. Also by Alan Dershowitz. See all books by Alan Dershowitz. Inspired by Your Browsing History. Ghost of a Chance. Charles Michener and Peter Duchin. Mary Queen of Scots. Michael Greenberg and Michael Greenberg. To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

To ask other readers questions about Taking the Stand , please sign up. Lists with This Book. Oct 01, Bob Schnell rated it really liked it Shelves: This book is not so much a biography as a concise re-telling of Mr. Dershowitz' most famous legal cases and clients wrapped up in personal reflection. There are the obligatory stories of youth, family and his life pre-law, but they take a backseat to the story of the evolving legal system in America over the past 50 years.

Dershowitz was there at most every ground-breaking ruling, even comparing himself to Woody Allen's character Zelig. His stand on human rights has even put him o This book is not so much a biography as a concise re-telling of Mr. His stand on human rights has even put him on the world stage and the latter part of the book is devoted to his opinions on the UN and Israel. I must say I went into the book rather ignorant of Mr.

I knew the name but couldn't recall specifics. Once the cases started unfolding, I realized how entrenched he was in popular culture as well as American jurisprudence. Readers who are more familiar with him might find it a bit too shallow or redundant. I enjoyed it and would read another book by him. Apr 23, Karen A. Wyle rated it really liked it. In his introduction to this memoir, Alan Dershowitz declares: This book is a cornucopia of name-dropping and bows in the mirror.

That said, it's also a fascinating account of a great many incidents and issues of importance to the legal and political history of the last half-century. It's hard to be certain, but I would guess that many In his introduction to this memoir, Alan Dershowitz declares: It's hard to be certain, but I would guess that many of the anecdotes and discussions will be of interest not only to lawyers and civil libertarians, but to any thoughtful and engaged citizen. This book also includes one of the best short summaries ever written of the importance of free speech.

See the bottom of page in the hardback print edition. Mar 31, Alex Timberman rated it really liked it Shelves: For those interested in the legal field, just imagine if you could become an esteemed law professor at Harvard while at the same time work as an attorney with celebrity clients in some of the most interesting areas of the law in the last 50 years. That is the true life of Alan Dershowitz. What makes his book interesting is his supposed near photographic memory, which helps him tell tales from his past in amazing detail.

First of all, he was an average student throughout childhood until he ente For those interested in the legal field, just imagine if you could become an esteemed law professor at Harvard while at the same time work as an attorney with celebrity clients in some of the most interesting areas of the law in the last 50 years. First of all, he was an average student throughout childhood until he entered Brooklyn College, where creativity was rewarded. Until then, he was raised in a strict Jewish school system, consistently lagging his peers. After college, he went on to Yale law school where after graduation he received one of the highest scores on the bar exam.

Then, he interned for Judge Bazelon of the U. Court of Appeals, later getting a job at Harvard law school as one of the youngest tenured professors ever. After his internship, he was in need of money and almost took a job at Stanford for 20, dollars a year, then the highest starting salary nationwide. At Harvard, Dershowtiz became an expert in criminal law among other areas except business law, since many Wall Street firms were not into hiring many Jews at the time. Regardless, he became one of the most prolific legal scholars ever, all without learning how to type.

He just writes on a notepad every day and has an assistant transcribe everything into the computer. With success, many celebrities became clients such as Mike Tyson and O. But more impressive than being a celebrity lawyer is his contribution Israel and Israeli causes worldwide. How a kid in Brooklyn from a lower-middle class family could ever become a Harvard professor, lawyer to celebrities, and to become one of the most famous supporters of a nation is a clear example of attaining the American Dream.

Even though he was a genius - he taught class and went into trials without ever taking or brining any notes - some people along the way helped him tremendously. And he was generous in paying homage to those that helped him. For example, there was one story about how Judge Bazelon loaned him money, when his daughter was sick, along with loaning him extra money to invest in a real estate investment fund in California that the Judge knew about.

The deal was so sweet that it earned enough money for Dershowiz to pay the Judge back. While appreciative, that lesson taught him to never be broke again since you never know when you need money. Now, that is a mentor and a friend. Dershowtiz made sure to visit the Judge often until he passed away, staying by his side. This book was a good story on his career, personal life, and his social life in which he has tried to give back: An amazing professor and lawyer, he came from a humble beginning to become part of the in-group to different presidents and some of the most powerful people in the world.

His life could have come straight out of a novel. I recommend this book to anyone interested in his life or legal career. Jun 26, H. Taking the Stand is part memoir, part popular law and other leading issues book. The combination is natural: From there Dershowitz moves away from a chronological approach, instead dividing the rest of the books among the various legal issues and cause Taking the Stand is part memoir, part popular law and other leading issues book. From there Dershowitz moves away from a chronological approach, instead dividing the rest of the books among the various legal issues and causes he has been a part of over his very long and illustrious career.

As he well recognizes, Dershowitz excels at putting legal concepts into everyday terms comprehensible to the layman.

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Particularly strong are sections on free expression, murder, and human rights. Dershowitz suffers from the same disease as Richard Posner and Cass Sunstein, thinking that because so much of what they say is so noteworthy that anything they might say on any subject, regardless of the thought they have given it or experience they might have in it, is equally noteworthy. This is particularly troublesome in most of the second half of the book, the broad stretch between free expression and criminal law and human rights.

Dershowitz has many virtues, but humility is not one of them. He also seems to lack any real appreciation for legal history.

His baseline for everything is the s. The legal and societal landscape has changed dramatically since Dershowitz became the youngest law professor at Harvard.

Taking the Stand: My Life in the Law

Free expression and civil rights have greatly expanded. One area on which we have not progressed as a human race is on Israel. Dershowitz details the inexplicable shift by the hard left and the UN to adopt an obsession with the perceived sins of Israel while ignoring genocides from Cambodia to Rwanda. Dershowtiz, rather than resting on his laurels and taking solace in all the success his early causes have had, instead takes this as a challenge that must be met. You or at least I have to admire a guy who, faced with a hard shift against one of his deeply held position, including by many of his peers, responds not by hiding his views but instead by arguing for them much more forcefully, openly, and energetically.

I received a complimentary e-copy of Taking the Stand via NetGalley. Aug 07, Diane rated it really liked it Shelves: I listened to this on CD. Dershowitz reads the preface and epilogue and his daughter reads the main body of the book 18 discs. She is okay — a bit overly emotive. He is definitely over-emotive to the point of it sounding like a bad play, but it is his story and it works. I liked the story of his growing up in Brooklyn in an orthodox Jewish family. He was considered a poor student and a difficult child and was not admitted to Yeshiva University.

Instead he went I listened to this on CD.

KIRKUS REVIEW

Instead he went to Brooklyn College and subsequently Yale Law School and that made all the difference. I enjoyed learning about the Supreme Court via his clerkship with Arthur Goldberg and his other early law training. I particularly like his musings about what decisions and situations in his life were the most important influences. I am a long-time opponent of the death penalty and very interested in first amendment interpretations, so his work in this area was of particular interest.

I also enjoyed his discussion of the role of science in law — I had never really thought about this much before so and it really captivated me. I was less interested in his work with celebrities although his comments about working with celebrities area worthwhile. I very much enjoy books about the law and this is a particularly charming one. Oct 24, Marti rated it really liked it Shelves: If this hadn't just been sitting around I am not sure I would have ever read this. Prior to this, I thought of Alan Dershowitz mainly as a criminal defense lawyer as his most high profile cases usually involved celebrities O.

What I was not aware of was that he was mainly a Harvard professor who took many pro bono cases on behalf of death row defendants, free speech, human rights or any other defendants who seemed to be wrongly convicted based on either DA co If this hadn't just been sitting around I am not sure I would have ever read this. What I was not aware of was that he was mainly a Harvard professor who took many pro bono cases on behalf of death row defendants, free speech, human rights or any other defendants who seemed to be wrongly convicted based on either DA coverup or new DNA evidence.

Thus he uses personal anecdotes to illustrate many controversial topics.

In areas like women's and gay rights, he believes the law has generally moved in the right direction from where it was fifty years ago. On the other hand, two institutions that have regressed in that same space of time are the Supreme Court and the United Nations. The former because they allow partisan politics to dictate their decisions ie. Gore and Citizens United , and the latter because it has been hijacked by tyrannical regimes.

As someone who does not follow the law or the U. Apr 29, Nate rated it liked it. Somewhat rambling and littered with frequent gratuitous name dropping of Dersh's experiences representing celebrities running the gamut from OJ Simpson to Leona Helmsly. The book suffers from a certain ADHD, loosely structured around the areas of Dershowitz's advocacy--the First Amendment, criminal defense, and later on Zionism--the narrative gets bogged down like a law bog with small stories that leave the reader struggling to remember all the different anecdotes.

The strength of the book is th Somewhat rambling and littered with frequent gratuitous name dropping of Dersh's experiences representing celebrities running the gamut from OJ Simpson to Leona Helmsly.

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The strength of the book is the more in depth analysis of cases. In particular, the author's analysis of the Clinton-Lewinsky was particularly poignant. The book has some strengths, a lot of interesting factoids and a firsthand account from the man behind many changes in our legal a political institutions.

But its loose vignette-ridden structure tends to lose the reader. Alan Dershowitz has managed to produce pages of tedious self-justification in this autobiography, turning what should be a fascinating account of an important life into a boring succession of chip on his shoulder anecdotes and score settling jeremiads against those he sees as his enemies. Full review coming in a couple of days.

Nov 06, Denise rated it really liked it Shelves: A few years ago I got in a facebook discussion with a friend, a graduate of Harvard Law School, who had warned her liberal friends not to underestimate Ted Cruz. When one of them popped up to call Cruz a moron, she reminded them that Dershowitz had called Cruz one of the most brilliant students he had ever had. Well, they countered, that must mean Dershowitz can't tell the difference between intelligence and just memorizing the material.

And that was the end of the discussion, because clearly th A few years ago I got in a facebook discussion with a friend, a graduate of Harvard Law School, who had warned her liberal friends not to underestimate Ted Cruz. And that was the end of the discussion, because clearly there's no point talking to somebody like that.

Dershowitz isn't shy about blowing his own horn, but I was fascinated by his educational background. He went to orthodox Jewish yeshivas, and had terrible grades. He had to file a protest to get the yeshiva to let him take the Regents exam they had a grade requirement that he didn't meet , then shocked everybody by scoring extremely high. Admitted to college, he proceeded to collect straight As, and then went off to the Ivy League and the editorship of the law review and became the youngest ever law professor at Harvard. The problem at yeshiva turned out to be that the teachers there just wanted him to memorize the material no problem for him, he has a nearly eidetic memory , give it back, and keep his mouth shut otherwise.

Whereas he wanted to question everything. Naturally he uses the Socratic method in his classes, and looks for critical thinking in his students. He is expecially interested in issues of civil liberties and human rights. Back in the day, he was a hero of the left when he was arguing for the free speech rights of the Vietnam war protestors and the black militants. These days he is more apt to show up on Fox News, still arguing for the free speech rights of the despised now conservatives and Zionists.

He knows everybody, and, like Zelig, was there for all the important events of the last fifty years. I disagree with him on lots of things, but I admire him tremendously for his commitment to the rule of law. Not to mention, he's a very entertaining writer. I enjoyed this book a lot. It's a summary of the author's life in law.

What struck me was how formative his youth was: As someone who constantly questioned authority, he got into trouble - but learned how to stand up for himself. Most of it deals with cases that the author has dealt with over his life. I loved the approach he took to cases - not being familiar with his cases, the way he dealt with the issues was eye-opening. It generally doe I enjoyed this book a lot.

It generally does a good job at showing you his point of view. Both incredibly informative and entertaining. Aug 11, Sara Goldenberg rated it really liked it. I really enjoyed this book and I haven't enjoyed anything else he wrote. Mar 08, Michael rated it liked it Shelves: He still has a knack for catchy turns of phrase, especially relating to criminal law: It would not be the last. Feb 22, Marie Smith marked it as to-read.

Jan 04, Sanjeev rated it really liked it. Until I read this book, I only knew "the Dersh Character" garrulous, disputatious, aggressive law professor whom I had been seeing for 30 years on television talk shows. The substance was probably always good but style was grating on the nerves.

This book introduces "the real Alan"- thoughtful, shy and who claims to be a "pushover" in private life. But that's how Mr. Dershowitz talks about his public and private personas. This book is written by one of the most brilliant legal mi Until I read this book, I only knew "the Dersh Character" garrulous, disputatious, aggressive law professor whom I had been seeing for 30 years on television talk shows. This book is written by one of the most brilliant legal minds of our times who was involved in almost all of the important legal issues and famous cases of this era: First section of the book is about his childhood in Brooklyn, college, going to Harvard, clerkship at the Appellate and Supreme Courts and job at the Harvard Law School.

Second through the fourth parts are about his handling of famous cases like O. Simpson, von Bulow etc. Dershowitz is a very engaging writer and this book makes a great reading. Shorn of his TV persona, the substance comes through and "the real Alan" is thoughtful, fascinating and extremely intelligent. But there are places in the book where he still cannot help tooting his horn: Overall, a must read if you are interested in the legal issues of our society and times.