Louis D. Brandeis, Melvin I. Urofsky
Louis D. Brandeis, Melvin I. Urofsky
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Louis D. Brandeis
A Life

Author: Melvin I. Urofsky

Narrator: Sean Pratt

Unabridged: 35 hr 13 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Ascent Audio

Published: 01/13/2010


Synopsis

The first full-scale biography in twenty-five years of one of the most important and distinguished justices to sit on the Supreme Court–an audio book that reveals Louis D. Brandeis the reformer, lawyer, and jurist, and Brandeis the man, in all of his complexity, passion, and wit.

As a lawyer in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, he pioneered how modern law is practiced. The author of the right to privacy he led the way in creating the role of the lawyer as counselor and pioneered the idea of pro bono publico work by attorneys.

Named to the Supreme Court, Brandeis, ranked as one of the nation’s leading progressive reformers. He invented savings bank life insurance in Massachusetts and was a driving force in the development of the Federal Reserve Act, the Clayton Antitrust Act, and the law establishing the Federal Trade Commission.

As an economist and moralist, Brandeis warned in 1914 that banking and stock brokering must be separate, and twenty years later, during the New Deal, his recommendation was finally enacted into law only to be undone by Ronald Reagan, which led to the savings-and-loan crisis in the 1980s and the world financial collapse of 2008.

And at age fifty-eight Brandeis became the head of the American Zionist movement. During the next seven years, Brandeis transformed it from a marginal activity into a powerful force in American Jewish affairs.

A huge and galvanizing biography, a revelation of one man’s effect on American society and jurisprudence, and the electrifying story of his time.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Frank

This book is an extensive, probably too extensive, look at an undeniably fascinating man. In the early 20th century Brandeis became known as the "People's Attorney" for taking on cases for labor unions, utility consumers and others. But as he himself said, he preferred not to be tied down to particu......more

Goodreads review by Rick

A great and thorough biography of a very interesting person. At times, a bit dry and technical. Maybe a pass unless you want to learn about specific court cases, aspects of Bostons political and social scene, and Brandeis specific briefs and letters. It did feel at times the book got bogged down in......more

Goodreads review by Jean

One of my goals for 2014 is to read about the Supreme Court justices so here is my first one this year. The life of Louis B. Brandeis, as explored in Professor Urofsky’s remarkable book, had innumerable passages that amazed me. Urofsky’s prose along with the meticulous detail he put into the book he......more

Goodreads review by Carole

At times Brandeis was riveting, yet there were segments that caused my eyes to glaze over, whole portions that I found myself skimming. Actually, “skimming” is a euphemism. I literally skipped a chapter or two. However, in a book of almost 1000 pages, that’s not so terrible. Where the biography focu......more

Goodreads review by Andy

After reading this I wish we had a Louis Brandeis on the Supreme Court now. This new biography traces his life and reminds us that Brandeis was an extremely successful attorney who made a great deal of money representing business and commercial interests before focusing on the cases that led him to......more