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Table of Contents

VI. PRE-LAW READING LIST

The following list of Pre-Law readings offers prospective law students an overview of selected classics and current titles in certain subjects: Law School and Legal Education, the Legal Profession, Biography, Jurisprudence and Legal Issues, and Financing Law School. This list should not be construed as an official bibliography; it is beyond the scope of this publication to provide any sort of definitive catalog of Pre-Law readings. Some of these books have already withstood the test of time, and are as relevant today as when they were first written and published, generations ago. Examples are Richard Kluger's Simple Justice -- a rare glimpse into the private workings and deliberations of the Supreme Court -- and Karl Llewellyn's The Bramble Bush -- a classic study of how legal education shapes our legal institutions.

Other, more recent titles simply reflect the most current writing on the subjects listed above and are not necessarily recommended simply because they appear on this list. It will be up to you to search out the titles that pique your interest and make your own determination of their worth. The aim of our list is merely to give you a head start in locating the newest published titles in the field. We hope that those interested in pursuing legal studies will find the issues raised and the ideas discussed in these works helpful in making the decision to choose law as a career.

A. Law School and Legal Education
Barber, David H. Winning in Law School: Stress Reduction. 2d ed. Dillon, CO: Spectra, 1986.
Bay, Monica. Careers in Civil Litigation. Chicago: American Bar Association/Law Student Division, 1990.
Bell, Susan J. Full Disclosure: Do You Really Want to Be a Lawyer? Princeton, NJ: Peterson's Guides, 1989.
Bell, Susan J. Interviewing for Success and Satisfaction. Chicago: American Bar Association/Young Lawyers Division,1989.
Calamari, John D., and Joseph M. Perillo, eds. How to Thrive in Law School. Pelham Manor, NY: Hook Mountain Press,1984.
Carter, Lief H. Reason in Law. Boston: Little, Brown and Company,1988.
Chase, William C. The American Law Schooland the Rise of Administrative Government. Madison, Wl: University of Wisconsin Press, 1982.
Curry, Boykin, ed. Essays That Worked for Law Schools: 35 Essays from Successful Applications to the Nation's Top Law Schools. New York: Fawcett Book Group, 1991.
Deaver, Jeff. The Complete Law School Companion. New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1984.
Delaney, John. How to Do your Best on Law School Exams. 2d ed. Bogota, NJ: John Delaney Publications, 1988.
Directory of Law SchoolJoint Degree Programs. 2d ed. Washington, DC: Federal Reports, Inc., 1991.
Dutile, Fernand N., ed. Legal Education and Lawyer Competency: Curricula for Change. Notre Dame, IN: University of Notre Dame Press, 1981
Dworkin, Elizabeth, Jack Himmelstein, and Howard Lesnick. Becoming a Lawyer: AHumanistic Perspective on Legal Education and Professionalism. St. Paul, MN: West Publishing, 1989.
Farnsworth, Edward A. An Introduction to the Legal System of the United States. 2d ed. Dobbs Ferry, NY: Oceana Publications, 1983.
Gillers, Stephen, ed. Looking at Law School: A Student Guide from the Society of American Law Teachers. 3d ed. NAL/Dutton, 1990.
Goldfarb, Sally F., and Edward A. Adams. Inside the Law Schools: A Guide by Students for Students. 5th ed. New York: Plume, 1991.
Goodrich, Chris. Anarchy and Elegance: Confessions of a Journalist at Yale Law School. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1991.
Hegland, Kenney F. Introduction to the Study and Practice of Law in a Nutshell. St. Paul, MN: West Publishing, 1983.
Kaplin, William A. The Concepts and Methods of Constitutional Law. Durham, NC: Carolina Academic Press.
Kelman, Mark. A Guide to Critical Legal Studies. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1987
Kenny, Phillip H. Studying Law. 2d ed. Salem, NH: Butterworth Legal Publishers, 1991.
Lasson, Kenneth, and Sheldon Margulies. Learning Law: The Mastery of Legal Logic. Durham, NC: Carolina Academic Press, 1992.
Legal Education and Professional Development - An Educational Continuum. Report of The Task Force on Law Schools and the Profession: Narrowing the Gap. Chicago: American Bar Association, Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar,
July 1992.
Llewellyn, Karl N. The Bramble Bush: On Our Law and its Study. rev.ed. Dobbs Ferry, NY: Oceana Publications 1981.
Marke, Julius J., and Edward J. Bander, eds. Deans' List of Recommended Readingfor Pre-Law and Law Students: Selected by the Deans and Faculties of American Law Schools. 2d ed. Dobbs Ferry, NY: Oceana Publications, 1984.
Martinson, Thomas H., J.D., and David P. Waldherr, J.D. Getting Into Law School: Strategies for the 90s. New York: Prentice Hall, 1992.
Mayfield, Craig K. Reading Skills for Law Students. Charlottesville, VA: Michie Co., 1980
Moliterno, James E., and Fredric Lederer. An Introduction to Law, Law Study, and the Lawyer's Role. Durham, NC: Carolina Academic Press, 1991.
Re, Edward D., and Joseph R. Re. Law Students' Manual on Legal Writing and Oral Argument. Dobbs Ferry, NY: Oceana Publications, 1991.
Roth, George. Slaying the Law School Dragon: How to Survive--and Thrive--in First-Year Law School. 2d ed. New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1991.
Simenhogg, Mark. ed. My First Year As A Lawyer. New York: Walker and Company, 1994.
So You Want to be a Lawyer: A Practical Guide. Newtown, PA: Law School Admission Service, Inc., 1993.
Stevens, Robert. Law SchooI: Legal Education in Americafrom the 1850s to the 1980s. Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press, 1983.
Stover, Robert V. Making It and Breaking It: The Fate of Public Interest Commitment During Law School. Urbana, IL: University of Illinois Press, 1989.
Swygert, Michael I., and Robert Batey, eds. Maximizing the Law School Experience: A Collection of Essays. St. Petersburg, FL: Stetson University College of Law,1983.
Turow, Scott. One L.: An Inside Account of Life in the First Year at Harvard Law School. New York: Penguin Books, 1978.
Vanderbilt, Arthur T. Law School: Briefing for a Legal Education. New York: Penguin Books, 1981.
Williams, Glanville. Learning the Law: A Book for the Guidance of the Law Student. 11th ed. London: Stevens, 1982.
Wydick, Richard C. Plain English for Lawyers. 2d ed. Durham, NC: Carolina Academic Press, 1985.

B. Legal Profession
Abel, Richard L. American Lawyers. NewYork: Oxford University Press, 1989.
Arron, Deborah. Running From the Law: Why Good Lawyers Are Getting Out of the Legal Profession. Berkeley, CA: Ten Speed Press, 1991.
Aaron, Deborah. What Can You do with a Law Degree? A Lawyer's Guide to Career Alternatives Inside, Outside, and Around the Law. Seattle: Niche Pres, 1992.
Caplan, Lincoln. Skadden: Inside the Business of Law in America. New York: Farrar, Strauss & Giroux, 1993.
Bailey, F. Lee. To Be A Trial Lawyer. New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1985.
Carey, William T. Law Students: How to Get a Job When There Aren't Any. Durham, NC: Carolina Academic Press,1986.
Couric, Emily. The Trial Lawyers: The Nation's Top Litigators Tell How They Win. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1988.
Delaney, John. Learning Legal Reasoning: Briefing, Analysis and Theory, rev. ed. Bogota, NJ: John Delaney Publications, 1987.
Epstein, Cynthia Fuchs. Women in Law. 2d ed. Urbana, IL: University of Illinois Press, 1993.
Foonberg, Jay G. How to Start and Build a Law Practice. 3d ed. Chicago: American Bar Association/Law Student Division, 1991.
Galanter, Marc, and Thomas Palay. Tournament of Lawyers: The Transformation of the Big Law Firm. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1991.
Glendon, Mary Ann. A Nation Under Lawyers: How the Crisis in the Legal Profession is Transforming American Society. New York: Farrar, Straus & Girous, 1994.
Harrington, Mona, Women Lawyers: Rewriting the Rules. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1994.
Henslee, William D. Careers in Entertainment Law. Chicago: American Bar Association/Law Student Division, 1990.
Kelly, Michael J. Lives of Lawyers: Journeys in the Organizations of Practice. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1994.
Killoughey, Donna M. ed. Breaking Traditions: Work Alternatives for Lawyers. Chicago: American Bar Association, Section of Law Practice Management, 1993.
Kronman, Anthony T. The Lost Lawyer: Failing Ideals of the Legal Profession. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press (Belknap Press), 1993.
Linowitz, Sol M., with Martin Mayer. The Betrayed Profession: Lawyering at the End of the Twentieth Century. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1994.
Luney, Percy R., Jr. Careers in Natural Resources and Environmental Law. Chicago: American Bar Association/Law Student Division,1987. Mayer, Martin. The Lawyers. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1980.
Moll, Richard W. The Lure of the Law: Why People Become Lawyers, and What the Profession Does to Them. New York: Penguin Books, 1990.
Munneke, Gary A. The Legal Career Guide: From Law Student to Lawyer. Chicago: American Bar Association Career Series, 1992.
O'Neill, Suzanne B., and Catherine Gerhauser Sparkman. From Law School to Law Practice: The New Associate's Guide. Philadelphia: American Law Institute/American Bar Association Committee on Continuing Professional Education, 1989.
Shaffer, Thomas L. with Mary M. Shaffer. American Lawyers and Their Communities: Ethics in the Legal Profession. Notre Dame, IN: University of Notre Dame Press, 1991.
Shropshire, Kenneth. Careers in Sports Law. Chicago: American Bar Association/Law Student Division, 1990.
Stewart, James B. The Partners. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1983.
Thorner, Abbie Willard, ed. Now Hiring: Government Jobs for Lawyers (1990-1991 edition). Chicago: American Bar Association/Law Student Division,1990.
Utley, Frances, and Gary A. Munneke. From Law Student to Lawyer: A Career Planning Manual. Chicago: American Bar Association/Law Student Division, 1984.
Utley, Frances, with Gary A. Munneke. Nonlegal Careers for Lawyers: In the Private Sector. 2d ed. Chicago: American Bar Association/Law Student Division,1991.
Wayne, Ellen. Careers in Labor Law. Chicago: American Bar Association/Law Student Division,1985.

C. Biography
Auchincloss, Louis. Life, Law and Letters: Essays and Sketches. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co.,1979.
Baker, Leonard. John Marshall: A Life in Law. New York: Macmillan, 1974.
Barth, Alan. Prophets with Honor: Great Dissents and Great Dissenters in the Supreme Court. New York: Vintage Books, 1975.
Darrow, Clarence. The Story of My Life. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons,1932.
Davis, Deane C. Justice in the Mountains: Stories & Tales by a VermontCountry Lawyer. Shelburne, VT: New England Press, 1980.
Davis, Lenwood G. I Have a Dream: The Life and Times of Martin Luther King. Westport, CT: Negro Universities Press, 1973.
Davis, Michael D. and Hunter R. Clark. Thurgood Marshall: Warrior at the Bar, Rebel on the Bench. New York: Birch Lane Press/Carol Publishing Group, 1993.
Douglas, William O. Go East Young Man: The Early Years. New York: Random House, 1974.
Douglas, William O. Court Years, 1939-1975: The Autobiography of William 0. Douglas. New York: Random House, 1980.
Dunne, Gerald T. Hugo Black and the Judicial Revolution. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1977
Goldman, Roger with David Gallen. Justice William J. Brennan, Jr.: Freedom First. New York: Carroll & Graf Publishers, Inc., 1994.
Griffith, Kathryn. Judge Learned Hand and the Role of the Federal Judiciary. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1973.
Gunther, Gerald. Learned Hand: The Man and the Judge. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1994.
Jeffries, John, Jr. Justice Lewis F. Powell. New York: Scribner, 1994.
Kahlenberg, Richard D. Broken Contract: A Memoir of Harvard Law School. New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1992.
Lynn, Conrad J. There is a Foundation: The Autobiography of a Civil Rights Lawyer. Westport, CN: Hill & Company, 1978.
Marke, Julius J. The Holmes Reader. Dobbs Ferry, NY: Oceana Publications,1964.
Murphy, Bruce Allen. The Brandeis/Frankfurter Connection. New York: Oxford University Press, 1982.
Nizer, Louis. Reflections Without Mirrors: An Autobiography of the Mind. New York: Doubleday, 1978.
Noonan, John T., Jr. Persons and Masks of the Law: Cardozo, Holmes, Jefferson, and Wythe as Makers of the Masks. New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1976.
Rowan, Carl T. Dream Makers, Dream Breakers. The World of Justice Thurgood Marshall. Boston: Little Brown & Company, 1993.
Schwartz, Bernard. Super Chief, Earl Warren and His Supreme Court-A Judicial Biography. New York: New York University Press, 1983.
Simon, James F. Independent Journey: The Life Of William O. Douglas. New York: Harper & Row, 1980.
Thomas, Evan. The Man to See: Edward Bennett Williams, Ultimate Insider; Legendary Trial Lawyer. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1991.
Urofsky, Melvin I. Louis D. Brandeis and the Progressive Tradition. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1981.
Westin, Alan F. Autobiography of the Supreme Court: Off-the-Bench Commentary by the Justices. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1978.
White, G. Edward. Earl Warren: A Public Life. New York: Oxford University Press, 1982.
Wigdor, David. Roscoe Pound: Philosopher of Law. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1974.

D. Jurisprudence and Legal Issues
Bodenhamer, David J. andJames E. Ely, Jr., eds. The Bill of Rights in Modern America. Bloomington and Indianapolis: Indiana University Press, 1993.
Bickel, Alexander M. The Least Dangerous Branch: The Supreme Court at the Bar of Politics. 2d ed. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1986.
Bickel, Alexander M. The Morality of Consent. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1975.
Burns, James MacGregor, and Stewart Burns. The People's Charter: Pursuing Rights in America. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1991.
Cahn, Edmond. The Moral Decision: Right and Wrong in the Light of American Law. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 1955.
Cardozo, Benjamin N. The Nature of the Judicial Process. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1921.
Dershowitz, Alan M. The Best Defense. New York: Random House, 1982.
Dershowitz, Alan M. Taking Liberties: A Decade of Hard Cases, Bad Laws, and Bum Raps. Chicago: Contemporary Books, 1988.
Finkel, Norman J. Insanity On Trial. New York: Plenum, 1988.
Greenberg, Jack, Crusaders in the Courts: How a Dedicated Band of Lawyers Fought for the Civil Rights Revolution. New York: Basic Books, 1994.
Guinier, Lani. The Tyranny of the Majority: Fundamental Fairness in Representative Democracy. New York: Martin Kessler Books (The Free Press), 1994.
Irons, Peter and Stephanie Guitton, eds. May It Please the Court: The Most Significant Oral Arguments Made Before the Supreme Court Since 1955. [audiocassette]. New York: New Press, 1993.
Howard, A.E. Dick. The Road from Runnymeade: Magna Carta and Constitutionalism in America. Charlottesville, VA: University of Virginia, 1968.
Irons, Peter. The Courage of their Convictions: Sixteen Americans Who Fought Their Way to the Supreme Court. New York: Penguin, 1990.
Kairys, David, ed. The Politics of Law: A Progressive Critique. New York: Pantheon Books, 1982.
Kirk, Russell. The Roots of American Order. Malibu, CA: Pepperdine University Press, 1981.
Kluger, Richard. Simple Justice: The History of Brown vs. Board of Education and Black America's Struggle for Equality. New York: Alfred A. Knopf,1976.
Konefsky, Samuel J. The Legacy of Holmes and Brandeis: A Study in the Influence of Ideas. New York: DeCapo Press, 1974.
Lee, Rex E. A Lawyer Looks at the Constitution. Provo, UT: Brigham Young University Press, 1981.
Lewis, Anthony. Gideon's Trumpet. New York: Random House, 1964.
Lewis, Anthony. Make No Law: The Sullivan Case and the First Amendment. New York: Random House, 1991.
Pfeffer, Leo. Religion, State and the Burger Court. Buffalo, NY: Prometheus Books, 1984.
Pound, Roscoe. Law and Morals. South Hackensack, NJ: Rothman Reprints, 1969.
Rehnquist, William H. The Supreme Court: How It Was, How It Is. New York: Quill Press, 1987.
Rosenberg, Gerald N. The Hollow Hope: Can Courts Bring About Social Change? Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1991.
Savage, David. Turning Right: The Making of the Rehnquist Supreme Court. New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1992.
Shapiro, Joseph P. No Pity: People with Disabilities Forgoing a New Civil Rights Movement. New York: Random House,1993.
Simon, James F. The Antagonists: Hugo Black, Felix Frankfurter and Civil Liberties in Modern America. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1989.
Sobol, Richard B. Bending the Law: The Story of the Dalkon Shield Bankruptcy. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1991.
Spence, Gerry. With Justice for None. New York: Penguin, 1990.
Treanor, Richard Bryant. We Overcame: The Story of Civil Rights for Disabled People. Falls Church, VA: Regal Direct Publishing, 1993.
Tribe, Laurence H. God Save This Honorable Court: How the Choice of Supreme Court Justices Shapes Our History. New York: Penguin/Mentor,1986.
Tushnet, Mark V. Making Civil Rights Law: Thurgood Marshalland the Supreme Court, 1936-1961. New York: Oxford University Press, 1994.
Unger, Roberto M. Knowledge and Politics. New York: The Free Press, 1984.
Van den Haag, Ernest, and John P. Conrad. The Death Penalty: A Debate. New York: Plenum, 1983.
Westin, Alan F. The Anatomy of a Constitutional Law Case: YoungstownSheet & TubeCo. v. Sawyer. New York: Columbia University Press, 1990.
Williams, Patricia J. The Alchemy of Race and Rights. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1991.
Wishman, Seymour. Anatomy of a Jury. New York: Penguin, 1987.
 

E. Financing Law School
The Black Collegian's Guide to Graduate and Professional Fellowship for Minority Students. 5th ed. New Orleans, LA: The Black Collegian, 1994.
Cantrell, Karen and Denise Wallen. Funding for Law: Legal Education, Research and Study. Phoenix, AZ: Oryx Press, 1991.
Cassidy, Daniel. The Graduate Scholarship Book: The Complete Guide to Scholarships, Fellowships, Grants, and Loans for Graduate and Professional Study. 2nd ed. National Scholarship Reference Service, Prentice-Hall, 1990.
Cronin, Joseph Marr, and Sylvia Quarles Simmons, eds. Student Loans: Risks and Realities. Dover, MA: Auburn House Publishing Co., 1987.
Johnson, Willis L. Directory of Special Programs for Minority Group Members: Career
Information Services, Employment Skills Banks, Financial Aid Sources. 5th edition.  Garrett Park, MD: Garrett Park Press, 1990.
Financial Aid for Minorities in Business and Law. Garrett Park, MD: Garrett Park Press, 1994.
Kirby, Deborah M., ed. Scholarships, Fellowships, and Loans: 1994-1995. 10th edition. Detroit: Gale Research, Inc.
The Loan Repayment Assistance Report. Washington, DC: National Association for Public Interest Law, 1993.
McWade, Patricia. Financing Graduate School. Princeton, NJ: Peterson's Guides, 1993.
Schlachter, Gail Ann. Financial Aid for the Disabled and their Families, 1994-96. San Carlos, CA: Reference Service Press.
Schlachter, Gail Ann. Directory of Financial Aids for Minorities, 1993-95. San Carlos, CA: Reference Service Press.
Schlachter, Gail Ann. Financial Aid for Veterans, Military Personnel, and Their Dependents, 1993-95. San Carlos, CA: Reference Service Press.
Schlachter, Gail Ann. Directory of Financial Aids for Women, 1993-95. San Carlos, CA: Reference Service Press.
Williams, Franklin A. and Mark Fischer. The Law Student's Guide to Scholarships and Grants. New York: Scovill, Paterson, Inc., 1994.


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