Louis D. Brandeis

Starred review from July 15, 2009
A comprehensive biography of an American legal giant.

A lawyer, reformer, Zionist and judge who demonstrated a unique blend of idealism and pragmatism, Louis Brandeis (1856–1941) was an unusual specimen whose career at the bar was every bit as distinguished as his tenure on the bench. From the outset of this detailed study, likely to become the standard biography, Urofsky (Law& Public Policy/Virginia Commonwealth Univ.; Money and Free Speech: Campaign Finance Reform and the Courts, 2005, etc.) confesses the difficulty of getting at the inner life of a man little given to introspection. As a Boston practitioner for nearly 40 years, Brandeis doggedly pursued"all the facts that surround" a case, and his penchant for incorporating sociological and economic materials in his legal arguments created a model later known as a"Brandeis brief." He pioneered the modern law-office practice, and his pro bono work on behalf of a variety of progressive reforms covering insurance, transportation and utilities earned him the title of the"People's Attorney." In 1916, as the first Jew ever nominated to the Supreme Court, Brandeis withstood fierce opposition from conservatives opposed to his liberal views. For the next 23 years he continued to entertain arguments and author opinions attacking the then-prevailing legal classicism that obstructed innovation. Often with his colleague and friend, Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, Brandeis famously dissented in a number of civil-liberties cases, most notably insisting on the right of all Americans"to be let alone." Urofksy assembles every fact pertinent to Brandeis's personal and professional life—with a few needlessly repeated—and he's especially good at placing the Justice in a proper historical and legal context, at explaining Brandeis's passionate attachment to the Zionist cause and at making complex legal issues comprehensible for the general reader.

An authoritative, impressive assessment of a man whose legal reasoning continues to influence our republic.

(COPYRIGHT (2009) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

September 15, 2009
This distinctive, full-scale biography focuses on Brandeis's intertwined and multifaceted career as a leader in the legal profession, a social and economic reformer, a key player in the American Zionist movement, and a justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, the latter accounting for the last third of the book. Relying upon Brandeis family papers and letters and Supreme Court documents not previously available, Urofsky (law & public policy, Virginia Commonwealth Univ.; coeditor, "The Family Letters of Louis D. Brandeis") analyzes broader social and political movements during Brandeis's lifetime (18561941) and the changing importance of law in society over that time. Brandeis established new jurisprudential principles for American law, especially in areas of the right to privacy, as a right to be left alone, and labor and business relationships involving legal protections for industrial laborers. However, Urofsky offers only limited analysis of his subject's judicial impact. VERDICT This chronological, conversational, and straightforward biography, as distinct from the more specialized legal and social analysis of Philippa Strum's "Louis D. Brandeis: Justice for the People", will be appreciated most by general readers interested in American history and American social progress.Steven Puro, St. Louis Univ.

Copyright 2009 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 1, 2009
The author of several studies about Progressive Era lawyer and reformer Louis Brandeis, Urofsky scales up to a full-blown biography here. Beginning with Brandeis Louisville, Kentucky, boyhood and ending with his two decades on the Supreme Court, Urofskys narrative tracks through what he describes as Brandeis four careers: practicing lawyer, reformer, Zionist, and jurist. In each sphere, Urofsky describes Brandeis important legacies. Switching his legal career to Boston after a false start in St. Louis, Brandeis did well and began to do good, raising his public profile as an advocate of regulating business. Urofsky thinks this stemmed from Brandeis abhorrence of bigness and explains why he invalidated some New Deal programs as a justice; in any event, Urofsky frames Brandeis outlook on law and society as that of a pragmatic idealist. He acted as an advisor to President Wilson, who tapped him for the high court in 1916. And it is his judicial tenure that will be of most interest to readers, followed by his family life. Urofskys comprehensive portrait will long serve collection needs.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2009, American Library Association.)