Rating: 
Summary: I loved it
Review: I'll keep this short and sweet. Please don't hold that against me. I LOVED this book. I am starting my first semester of law school soon, and I found this book to be enlightening and inspiring. Dershowitz is a gem among lawyers and of all his books I have read, this is the ONE that I would recommend for all law students.
Happy reading.
Rating:
Summary: I loved it
Review: I'll keep this short and sweet. Please don't hold that against me. I LOVED this book. I am starting my first semester of law school soon, and I found this book to be enlightening and inspiring. Dershowitz is a gem among lawyers and of all his books I have read, this is the ONE that I would recommend for all law students.
Happy reading.
Rating: 
Summary: Can you stomach Dershowitz?
Review: This book is Dershowitz assuming the role of sage. He presumes that his seat at Harvard somehow endows him with superior wisdom that we lessor mortals are fortunate enough to receive. His only claim to fame is a dubious role on the O.J. case and making an obvious argument concerning the break in the chain of custody in the Von Bulow case. It isn't worth the paper it's printed on. On page 34, he assumes his audience belongs to the privileged caste and secret guilds which will guarantee $500,000 a year right out of law school. Dershowitz is drunk with elitism while allegedly defending the common man. Was O.J. and Bulow the common man? His hypocrisy is pathetic. Like Derrida, he seems to make things up as he goes along with "mock profundity" such as on page 19, infra, "Choose your enemies" rather than choose your friends. Gee, how profound! He rehashes the old, outdated and self-serving political statements of the Yiddish left concerning McCarthyism (page 57), morality (page 41) and makes reference to Doctor Strangelove in speaking about Flouridation (page 177). Here is a man who bemoans the alleged holacuast while denying moral standards on page 41, infra. He's confused, self-centered with respect to his Yiddish agenda and preaches against anyone who doesn't defend his selfish, self-centered interest. He demands that we all be trash our traditions while he clings zealously to his Yiddish traditions.
Rating:
Summary: Great advice about practicing law and about life in general
Review: This is a fantastic book.Dershowitz writes about whether there is an absolute morality and whether law is an honourable profession, as well as about self-doubt, failure, regrets and being a good person. Even if you don't agree with his politics, a reprinted letter from a former student at Harvard explains it perfectly when he says, "my reasons for (having you as my favourite professor) have more to do with politics." It has to do with the fact that Dershowitz gives the best advice, which is always fresh and original and with great anecdotes. -from a first-year law student who loved every page of this book
Rating:
Summary: Packed with Knowledge!
Review: This is an excellent book - well written, cogent and persuasive - the perfect launch of the new Art of Mentoring series. Alan M. Dershowitz, an impassioned and outspoken attorney, is keenly aware of the risks and pitfalls of legal practice. He squarely confronts the fact that lawyers often find themselves having to make moral or ethical choices in ambiguous circumstances in which the lesser of two evils is the only possible choice because there is no clear good - and yet, no clearly lesser evil. The book does not pretend to be objective. It is a compilation of advice, great courtroom war stories, practical tips and philosophical conclusions. Dershowitz is a fighter who chose his side long ago and has no intention of deserting it. Some of his more liberal positions will seem wrong-headed or ill-considered to those who disagree. Well, not ill-considered; he is a thoughtful man who takes lawyering seriously. We recommend this book to you whether or not you intend to study or practice law. It is valuable for an audience far broader than only young lawyers, including those who hire them.
Rating: 
Summary: A thought provoker...
Review: This is one of those books that makes me wish we could grade on a 10-star scale instead of 5, because I'd really like to give it 7 out of 10 stars instead of 4 out of 5. In reality, it's probably not quite a 4, but better than a 3. I agree with the complaints below that Professor Dershowitz sometimes comes off as more grinding an axe than giving advice, but the problem isn't pervasive enough to ruin the book (it probably didn't hurt that I agreed with his attacks). I also agree with the comment that it is heavily geared towards people who want to practice criminal law as oppposed to civil litigation or transactional law. However, my suspicion is that civil litigators and transactional lawyers face many of the same ethical dillemmas that criminal lawyers face, and it's worth thinking about them no matter what kind of law you (want to) practice. Professor Dershowitz's closing chapter on why you should be good was particularly strong and may be worth picking up the book for alone. Also, even if you end up hating the book, it's a very quick read, so at least you won't have wasted a lot of time.
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