3 comments about CCB: The Life and Century of Charles C. Burlingham, New York's First Citizen, 1858-1959.

1. This extraordinary book, at once scholarly and a good read, not only delights and informs its readers, but links them with the century of Burlingham's life and the people who made it what it was. Its author's careful research, wide sympathies, and grasp of what makes people and societies act the way they do illuminates the history of the man, the city, and the times.



2. I began reading this long political biography because the author is a personal friend. At first, I thought I would skim the book but by page 200 it had become a real page-turner. It was so well-written and researched and dealt with such fascinating subjects--including the downfall of Tammany Hall and the rise of Fiorello Laguardia. Burlingham was influential in both events and his long (101-year!) life overlapped with those of many other historical figures whom he influenced and whose influence, like his, continues to be felt today. A great feast for the mind!



3. Mr. Burlingham deserves the serious and engaging review of his contributions to American society so adroitly recounted by George Martin. This book is absolutely terrific. And the question we must ask is are there any CCB's to be found in the future of America? We need them.

No comments about The March of Civil Rights: The Benjamin Hooks Story (ABA Biography Series).

No comments about Law of the Commonwealth and Chief Justice Shaw.

No comments about Portrait of a Patriot, Volume 2: The Major Political and Legal Papers of Josiah Quincy Junior (Colonial Society of Massachusetts).

No comments about Vegetable Seed Production.

No comments about Hugo L. Black and the Dilemma of American Liberalism (Library of American Biography Series) (2nd Edition) (Library of American Biography).

3 comments about Snow Blind.

1. I first met Douglas Kalajian after toasting the New Journalism with the fabled editor Eddie Sears during a wine-fueled chit-chat in the executive floors of The Palm Beach Post. The year was 1994 or 1995. I forget, mainly because I left all my brains to the wrinkled mavens who entertained me nightly at the many ornate bars I frequented in Palm Beach. What Sears said about Kalajian pretty much cements my belief that Douglas, more than any other writer in star-crossed Southern Florida, has a full grasp of the many flawed characters that walk that wild geography. "Kalajian will shock the Hell out of a witch," Sears said. This book is about one such wicked dude. You can visit Florida for a week and it isn't long before you get the distinct feeling that Florida is no Midwest Wimp like Oklahomo or Kancer or Rita Nebraska...No, sir. Here, in his book, Douglas Kalajian is both Dali and Diego Rivera. He has painted a factual mural so alarming and bright that to read it is to see what's on the other side of the Sun. I read it while fishing in The Gulf of Mexico and damned if every damned fish I caught didn't look ugly as all Hell. Truth is scary and Douglas Kalajian has thrown truth at us...



2. Snow Blind is a true story that moves at the pace of an action adventure. The action happens in the courtroom, as a youg public defender with a gift for showmanship rights wrongs, rescues the innocent and puts the high-and-mighty in their place. And then something goes wrong, big time. If you live in South Florida you WILL recognize the protagonist and the bigwigs he must duel. You'll be surprised, because not many people know the details. Even if you live elsewhere and don't know the names, you'll be swept along by this amazing story.



3. Kalajian has written a riveting tale of the true life fall of a passionate advocate for the poor who becomes caught in the seductions of the drug underworld and who saves his soul only when he returns to his calling to help others.

5 comments about Hail to the Dragon Slayer.

1. This is a great work. If you are from Louisiana, particularly the New Orleans area, or are interested in its heritage, this book will definitely impress you. It was written by a well known attorney of well known clients. It is chock full of facts & amazing history, with a bit of humor blended into the mix. Check it out! Recommend it!



2. As a former criminal trial attorney, I loved this little novel about the chronical of a very colorful American family, and about the real courtroom wars in our criminal justice system. But I thought the novel was also the story of a "great one" coming into his own, unadorned, straight at you. Refreshing and funny...often spellbinding. I loved the apparently direct-from-the-courtroom arguments. The author's own voice adds a wonderfully real edge. Listen to this one, you'll love it. We need another soon.

   Hal Dockins Jackson MS.




3. Buddy Lemann's description of Louisiana law couldn't have been any more acurate! His descriptions of past cases were wonderfully worded. He did an excellent job of presenting the legal world in layman's language. I truly enjoyed learning the deepest secrets of his clients and stratagies! I can't wait for the next book!



4. Any lawyer tired of tomes and in need of some comic relief will enjoy Arthur "Buddy" Lemann's "Hail to the Dragon Slayer", a memoir of selected cases handled by the successful New Orleans criminal defense lawyer over several decades.

   Criminal defense lawyers all have survival mechanisms and strategies to contend with the stress which results from being responsible for protecting clients' liberty and from engaging in that particular kind of battle known as the trial. Buddy tells us about his--mythmaking and humor. The delusions of gradeur need a framework--the defense lawyer as Ivanhoe is a good one, especially for the Southern lawyer. We still look for damsels in distress. (Lawyers I know west of the Mississippi seem to prefer the cowboy archetype. You've all seen the "Gunfighters Don't Charge By The Bullet" poster.) But while what we do requires the energy of myths, at the end of the day we need a good laugh to bring us back to ear! th.

   The Carlos Marcello (local allged mafioso) and the Dino Cincel (alleged pedophile priest) are the most famous of the cases. Buddy tells good stories, succinctly, unabashedly, and always with that twinkle in his eye. While weaving his knight theme though his trial tales, he also reveals some things about himself which certainly have some bearing on his skill as a trial lawyer. He admits to (or boasts about) being a sinner, which gives him something in common with both defendants and jurors. Let the judge and the prosecutor be holier than thou.

   The dragons Buddy tells of fighting and sometimes slaying are the ones criminal lawyers have a license to duel--the king, the church, all authority. Years of such combat spawn a virulent form of cynicsm. Buddy reminds us that a good laugh is the antidote, and that the justice system must have some redeeming qualities, or dragons would never get slain.

   His childhood adversary was that bastion of authoritarianism, the Catho! lic Church. The early duelling prepares him for his career! . He writes:

   "I still remember the great agony of trying to make it from Friday's confession to Sunday's communion. But I soon learned how to beat the system. By confessing on Friday to uncommitted sins and throwing in one whopper to cover the scam, I could march up to the rail on Sunday mornings under the watchful eye of parents and priests with a clear conscience. Again, I sided with the sinners. It was also my first lesson in imunity."

   Irreverent and sometimes politically incorrect, Dragon Slayer is a hoot. War stories were always my favorite part of CLE anyway.




5. my cousin, buddy lemann, has written a wonderful account of how to take care of the law business in south louisiana. you will laugh, cry, and won't believe all this could happen in modern day america

1 comments about Justice Stephen Field: Shaping Liberty from the Gold Rush to the Gilded Age.

1. Paul Kens has written a lively, entertaining, and scholarly intellectual biography of one of the most fascinating justices of the U.S. Supreme Court, Stephen J. Field. Kens traces Field's career from his days as a young attorney just landed in gold-rush-crazed San Francisco in 1849, to his appointment to the U.S. Supreme Court less than fourteen years later, and on to the end of the century. Along the way, Kens discusses the political and economic events that shaped the thinking of Field and those with whom he did intellectual battle. Throughout, the book deals with an issue central to law in the economic realm: Does the economic power with which society might legitimately be concerned stem from government alone, or do other, private sources of power warrant a governmental response? Field clearly answered this question in one way, whereas for much of their history Americans have answered it in another. It may be a question that, every generation or so, Americans must answer anew....

   Kens provides a balanced view. It would be easy to characterize Field as an apologist for the wealthy establishment--and he was so characterized by contemporary critics. But that characterization was not correct. Field's logic led him to take politically unpopular stands, especially with respect to issues of race, immigration, and corporate power. His concern about the potential abuse of government caused him to defend a strong role for federal judicial oversight of state legislation--recognizing that state legislatures might be even more likely than Congress to adopt special-interest legislation.

3 comments about Cowboy in the Roundhouse: A Political Life.

1. As other reviewers have said, Bruce King was a mainstay of New Mexico politics in the latter half of the 20th century. As has also been mentioned, the book is a rather politicized work, but this is to be expected from a politician.
   
   King has written his autobiography, which is a work that focuses on his political life moreso than any of his life outside of the political arena. He explains, in great detail (and quite convincingly) that he was a conciliator during his political life, and that he was a moderate Democrat that was concerned more about the welfare of the state than many politicians who are more concerned about their own political livelihoods or their legacy.
   
   In this work, King enables us to see how New Mexico politics has evolved over the last half century, and what role he played in that arena during those years. It is a quick read, and enjoyable for anyone familiar with the state or intrigued by the American southwest.
   
   The only thing I found frustrating about the work was his constant "name dropping"; he often time would start a paragraph or a section of the book with a list of 10 or 15 names - people that he was affiliated with, or trying to influence for one reason or another.
   
   In summary, it was a good book, an enjoyable book, and worth reading.



2. I was more than a little disapointed in this far less than candid politicaql biography. One sided vauge and looking at the political world of New Mexico with very partisan Rose colered glasses is just the bgegining of my complaints about this dull manuscript. King saves much of his venmon for liberal Republican former Gov. David Cargo. He white wases his problems with corrupt Democrat Governors Jerry Apodaca and Toney Anaya. He has no recolecxtion abou the stolen election of 1978 when he and Bill Richardson ordered the cotter pins cut on voting machines in the North East heights of Albuquerque and the paper ballots detained at the state fair grounds. He does not pretend that Joe Skeen was his "friend".He does not mention the 1980 debackle of trying to get his less than compentat nephew David King anoointed to the seat of the late Harold Runnels in Congress.He was the bigggeswt supporter of the patron system and clains he was aginst it.He was an obsticle to progress and quarrlled with the conservative coalition during his secound term and a imcompentat joke during his 3rd and last term.A bad bio from a miserable Governor only for his fellow partisan Democrats.



3. This book is a wonderful historical record of New Mexico politics in the 20th Century. Filled with insightful anecdotes and provoking commentary. Bruce King is a very important figure in N.M. It's scary to think that he almost didn't write this book. I highly recommend.