The Justice from Beacon Hill: The Life and Times of Oliver Wendell Holmes

by Liva Baker

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• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0060166290
• ISBN13: 9780060166298
• Release Date: January 1991
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
• Length: 783 Pages
• Weight: 2.55 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.8" x 6.5" x 9.5"

Customer Reviews

An Historical Profile in the Form of a Biography

Ms. Baker has succeeded in developing not only a view of Justice Holmes, a free thinker and a freer spirit, but also a profile of the era or, perhaps, of several eras. Justice Holmes' life crossed a number of turning points in American jurisprudence. On the academic side, Holmes took part in sea changes in the approach taken to legal teaching and legal scholarship. On the historical side, Justice Holmes witnessed and took part in events that had a marked impact on the rule and role of law in the United States -- the Civil War, Emancipation, Reconstruction, Industrialization and aggressive business practices at the turn of the last Century, World War I and the Red Scare, the Roaring Twenties and the onset of the Great Depression. The work provides insight into the workings of the 19th century court system, the decline in influence of the Boston aristocracy and the rise of a social conscience among the judiciary. On the whole, this is an enjoyable read for history buffs, social analysts, lawyers and those who tolerate them.