50 Books Challenge | February
This was a non-productive month for reading, for various reasons.
16. Law: A Very Short Introduction
Author: Raymond Wacks
Genre: Nonfiction//Law
Pages: 153
Rating: 4/5
Let's be honest, it's not easy summarizing law under two-hundred pages. Wacks had his work ahead of him. That aside, this really was a very informative book, and did exactly what it was aimed to do: provide a beginner's introduction to law, with special focus on common and civil. Wacks goes through the origins and histories of the different legal systems throughout the world, although focusing predominantly on Western law. Within the West, the U.S. and its current troubles (especially regarding technology) are brought up frequently; while we're a common law country (with the exception of Louisiana), we have some peculiar quirks that do not match the other countries with common law - how our lawyers dress, how the hierarchy of the courts, and the very profession of law itself. However, this book falls into the inevitable trap: it's too short. What do you expect from "A Very Short Introduction," yes, but I felt Wacks could have concentrated even more on the differences between common law and civil law, but didn't. Nevertheless, it does inspire me to find other books to discover the answers for myself. Treat this like a Wikipedia book, but with more respect.
17. The Trial and Death of Socrates
Author: Plato
Genre: Nonfiction//Classic-Philosophy
Pages: 106
Rating: 5/5
I really do love Plato, and if people don't read anything else of his, you must take a look at Republic and the Trial and Death of Socrates. In this work, composed of four dialogues, Plato describes the persecution, trial, judgment, and execution of Socrates, who was tried and convicted of "corrupting the youth" and denying the existence of the gods. The message Socrates leaves is very strong. He has the opportunity to be given an exile instead of death so long as he stops teaching; but, as Socrates said so eloquently, "the unexamined life is not worth living." He has the chance to escape the prison and run; but he knows that since he enjoyed the benefits Athens gave him, he must also agree to the punishments she delivers. Socrates truly was a man of honor. He knew that for the law to work, its citizens had to be willing to agree to its consequences as well as its rewards. He didn't fear death, because it was only there that his soul would not be weighed down by the wants and needs of the body; and if there were no afterlife, he knew he wouldn't be aware of it, so there was still no reason to worry. Even though his enemies win the battle with his death, Socrates won the war by keeping his intellectual superiority and moral integrity. I cannot suggest this read enough.
18. Practical Proceedings in the Supreme Court of the State of New York: Hamilton's Practice Manual
Author: Alexander Hamilton
Genre: Nonfiction//Law
Pages: 137
Rating: 5/5
After the Revolutionary War, veterans who wanted to become lawyers in New York were given a way out of the three-year apprenticeship if they could study and pass the bar within a certain amount of time. Alexander Hamilton qualified in six months. With American independence won, lawyers were having a difficult time transitioning from colonial to state law. Hamilton noticed there were no procedures for him to study, so decided to write one himself. Practical Proceedings, like all primary sources, is a window into the past, and in this case early New York state law. It covers process, pleas, habeas corpus, marriage, fees, and a wide range of other legal problems that you'd expect to still research to this day. Hamilton got a few facts wrong, and much of his proceedings are now outdated, but his book was relied upon by many law students during his time as the first, truly American study book for law. However, given its complexity - being both a law book and being written in the eighteenth century - I'd recommend this only for lawyers and historians. This is a book best read alongside a secondary resource tracking the transition from British law to American law.
16. Law: A Very Short Introduction
Author: Raymond Wacks
Genre: Nonfiction//Law
Pages: 153
Rating: 4/5
Let's be honest, it's not easy summarizing law under two-hundred pages. Wacks had his work ahead of him. That aside, this really was a very informative book, and did exactly what it was aimed to do: provide a beginner's introduction to law, with special focus on common and civil. Wacks goes through the origins and histories of the different legal systems throughout the world, although focusing predominantly on Western law. Within the West, the U.S. and its current troubles (especially regarding technology) are brought up frequently; while we're a common law country (with the exception of Louisiana), we have some peculiar quirks that do not match the other countries with common law - how our lawyers dress, how the hierarchy of the courts, and the very profession of law itself. However, this book falls into the inevitable trap: it's too short. What do you expect from "A Very Short Introduction," yes, but I felt Wacks could have concentrated even more on the differences between common law and civil law, but didn't. Nevertheless, it does inspire me to find other books to discover the answers for myself. Treat this like a Wikipedia book, but with more respect.
17. The Trial and Death of Socrates
Author: Plato
Genre: Nonfiction//Classic-Philosophy
Pages: 106
Rating: 5/5
I really do love Plato, and if people don't read anything else of his, you must take a look at Republic and the Trial and Death of Socrates. In this work, composed of four dialogues, Plato describes the persecution, trial, judgment, and execution of Socrates, who was tried and convicted of "corrupting the youth" and denying the existence of the gods. The message Socrates leaves is very strong. He has the opportunity to be given an exile instead of death so long as he stops teaching; but, as Socrates said so eloquently, "the unexamined life is not worth living." He has the chance to escape the prison and run; but he knows that since he enjoyed the benefits Athens gave him, he must also agree to the punishments she delivers. Socrates truly was a man of honor. He knew that for the law to work, its citizens had to be willing to agree to its consequences as well as its rewards. He didn't fear death, because it was only there that his soul would not be weighed down by the wants and needs of the body; and if there were no afterlife, he knew he wouldn't be aware of it, so there was still no reason to worry. Even though his enemies win the battle with his death, Socrates won the war by keeping his intellectual superiority and moral integrity. I cannot suggest this read enough.
18. Practical Proceedings in the Supreme Court of the State of New York: Hamilton's Practice Manual
Author: Alexander Hamilton
Genre: Nonfiction//Law
Pages: 137
Rating: 5/5
After the Revolutionary War, veterans who wanted to become lawyers in New York were given a way out of the three-year apprenticeship if they could study and pass the bar within a certain amount of time. Alexander Hamilton qualified in six months. With American independence won, lawyers were having a difficult time transitioning from colonial to state law. Hamilton noticed there were no procedures for him to study, so decided to write one himself. Practical Proceedings, like all primary sources, is a window into the past, and in this case early New York state law. It covers process, pleas, habeas corpus, marriage, fees, and a wide range of other legal problems that you'd expect to still research to this day. Hamilton got a few facts wrong, and much of his proceedings are now outdated, but his book was relied upon by many law students during his time as the first, truly American study book for law. However, given its complexity - being both a law book and being written in the eighteenth century - I'd recommend this only for lawyers and historians. This is a book best read alongside a secondary resource tracking the transition from British law to American law.