Our collection of book recommendations on the law covers legal and constitutional issues, justice and the relationship between the two. On the United States side, we have SCOTUS Justice Stephen Breyer, nominated to the Supreme Court by President Bill Clinton, discussing his intellectual influences. He talks about the importance of context in the work of the Supreme Court.
Jack Rakove, Pulitzer prize-winning historian from Stanford University, chooses his best books on the US constitution, discussing how it came to take on the shape it did and why American citizens are so wedded to it. Journalist Dahlia Lithwick chooses her best books on US Supreme Court Justices. Meanwhile, Kenneth W Mack, Professor of Law at Harvard University, chooses his best books on race and US law, and discusses the tensions between egalitarianism and exclusion at the heart of US law and politics.
On the UK side, the Secret Barrister, author of The Secret Barrister: Stories of the Law and How It’s Broken chooses their best books on justice and the law, which have helped to shape the way they think. Another barrister, Alex McBride, chooses his best books on trial by jury and former Foreign Secretary David Owen chooses his best books on constitutional reform.
On an international level, Andrew Cayley QC chooses his best books on war crimes and Colleen Murphy of the University of Illinois chooses her best books on transitional justice.
Stephen Lucas, a partner at Linklaters with a focus on the former Soviet Union, chooses his best books on Soviet law, which formed the subject of his PhD thesis.
The best books on The Rule of Law, recommended by Jonathan Sumption
What is the relationship between law and human society? Does the rule of law entail certain rights? What are the justifications for legal constraints on human conduct? Jonathan Sumption, a former Justice of the UK’s Supreme Court, discusses these and other issues related to the rule of law.
The best books on Justice and the Law, recommended by The Secret Barrister
The English legal system is struggling to ensure justice. Drastic government cuts and disastrous reforms have led to innocent people being let down by the system again and again. Reporting anonymously from the front line, The Secret Barrister sees it as their duty to keep the public informed. Here they discuss the books that have shaped the way they think about justice and its relation to the law.
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1
Transitional Justice
by Ruti G Teitel -
2
A Human Being Died That Night
by Pumla Gobodo-Madikizela -
3
Atrocity, Punishment, and International Law
by Mark A Drumbl -
4
Imperfect Justice: An East-West Diary
by Inga Markovits -
5
Brothers of the Gun: A Memoir of the Syrian Civil War
by Marwan Hisham and Molly Crabapple
The best books on Transitional Justice, recommended by Colleen Murphy
The best books on Transitional Justice, recommended by Colleen Murphy
When a period of war or oppression draws to a close, how should a country face up to past wrongdoing while creating a future free of conflict? Colleen Murphy—professor of law, philosophy and political science at the University of Illinois—discusses five books that examine the issues at the heart of ‘transitional justice.’
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1
Creation of the American Republic, 1776-1787
by Gordon S Wood -
2
Novus Ordo Seclorum
by Forrest McDonald -
3
Plain, Honest Men: The Making of the American Constitution
by Richard Beeman -
4
A Revolution in Favor of Government
by Max M Edling -
5
Ratification: The People Debate the Constitution, 1787-1788
by Pauline Maier
The best books on The US Constitution, recommended by Jack Rakove
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1
Civic Ideals: Conflicting Visions of Citizenship in U.S. History
by Rogers M. Smith -
2
At America's Gates: Chinese Immigration during the Exclusion Era, 1882-1943
by Erika Lee -
3
Impossible Subjects: Illegal Aliens and the Making of Modern America
by Mae M. Ngai -
4
Lift Every Voice: The NAACP and the Making of the Civil Rights Movement
by Patricia Sullivan -
5
The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness
by Michelle Alexander
The best books on Race and the U. S. Law, recommended by Kenneth W. Mack
The best books on Race and the U. S. Law, recommended by Kenneth W. Mack
Kenneth W. Mack, the Lawrence D. Biele Professor of Law at Harvard University, discusses the warring ideals of egalitarianism and exclusion at the heart of US politics and law, from the founding of the nation up to the present day.
The best books on Trial By Jury, recommended by Alex McBride
Alex McBride, criminal barrister and author of Defending the Guilty, chooses books that illustrate the history of trial by jury. He points to influential cases in British legal history, and shows how poor regulation of the legal profession in the 19th century resulted in some questionable practices.
