Overview

"Written in a lucid style and well illustrated, Justice Holmes: The Measure of His Thought offers a biographical look at the influences that have shaped his judicial outlook, especially his open-minded refusal to inject his own views into his legal decisions. The authors demonstrate--especially through United States Supreme Court Justice Holmes's 1919 opinions on speech--what would be obvious to a veteran of the courtroom, but not always to a biographer or a professor: that there is a big difference between ""questions of law"" before an appellate judge, and ""questions of fact"" determined by a trial judge or jury. The authors also examine Holmes's childhood and family influences as well as his Civil War experience that shaped his views on natural law and religion. The book describes Holmes's intellectual influences and includes photos of his book collection now at the Library of Congress. Through a discussion of the letters Holmes wrote at his Beverly Farms, MA home where he summered when the Court was not in session, we are given a window into his remarkable wit as well as his philosophical views. The book includes rare photographs of Beverly Farms."

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9781616193881

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This short, very readable biography of Oliver Wendell Holmes masterfully describes what shaped this great justice and how he shaped the law. Holmes's life tells us about a century of American history, as Holmes lived from 1841 until 1935, fighting in the Civil War and enduring the depression. Few Supreme Court justices have had a more profound impact on the Constitution and this superb book tells how and explains why. ERWIN CHEMERINSKY, Dean and Jesse H. Choper Distinguished Professor of Law, University of California, Berkeley School of Law Ever wonder how Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. became Justice Holmes, the most towering of our Supreme Court justices? In this terrific book, Murray and Quattlebaum introduce us to Holmes the thinker. Holmes the boy, the man, the lawyer, and most of all the thinker all come alive through the stories they tell. Someone new to the life of Justice Holmes will find in this volume a wonderful introduction; those who have read every scrap they can find about Holmes will be delighted by this new angle and the revelations that Murray and Quattlebaum bring forward. It is a joy to read. JOHN PALFREY, Head of School, Phillips Academy, Andover; Formerly, Henry N. Ess III Professor of Law, Harvard Law School

"""This short, very readable biography of Oliver Wendell Holmes masterfully describes what shaped this great justice and how he shaped the law. Holmes's life tells us about a century of American history, as Holmes lived from 1841 until 1935, fighting in the Civil War and enduring the depression. Few Supreme Court justices have had a more profound impact on the Constitution and this superb book tells how and explains why."" ERWIN CHEMERINSKY, Dean and Jesse H. Choper Distinguished Professor of Law, University of California, Berkeley School of Law ""Ever wonder how Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. became Justice Holmes, the most towering of our Supreme Court justices? In this terrific book, Murray and Quattlebaum introduce us to Holmes the thinker. Holmes the boy, the man, the lawyer, and most of all the thinker all come alive through the stories they tell. Someone new to the life of Justice Holmes will find in this volume a wonderful introduction; those who have read every scrap they can find about Holmes will be delighted by this new angle and the revelations that Murray and Quattlebaum bring forward. It is a joy to read."" JOHN PALFREY, Head of School, Phillips Academy, Andover; Formerly, Henry N. Ess III Professor of Law, Harvard Law School"

Author Information

For 50 years Anthony Murray - former president of the State Bar of California - practiced civil and criminal law. He has handled and tried a great variety of cases, among them white collar crimes, fraud, trusts and estate litigation, trade secret cases, biotechnology litigation and a wide range of complex commercial litigation. He taught trial advocacy at Loyola of Los Angeles School of Law, and has published articles on subjects that include Justice Holmes's views on natural law. Edwin G. Quattlebaum III taught American and European history at Philips Academy, Andover for 36 years. He has also served as professor in the English and History Departments at Bunker Hill Community College and taught history at the University of California, Berkeley, in New Hampshire, and in Australia. His A.B. is from Harvard and his Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley.

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