One L: The Turbulent True Story of a First Year at Harvard Law School | 
 enlarge | Author: Scott Turow
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Category: Book
List Price: $13.95
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Avg. Customer Rating:  134 reviews
Sales Rank: 22098
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 288
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.6
Dimensions (in): 7.9 x 5.3 x 0.9
ISBN: 0446673781
Dewey Decimal Number: 340.07
EAN: 9780446673785
ASIN: 0446673781
Publication Date: September 1, 1997
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Condition: Standard used condition.
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Product Description
One L, Scott Turow's journal of his first year at law school introduces and a best-seller when it was first published in 1977, has gone on to become a virtual bible for prospective law students. Not only does it introduce with remarkable clarity the ideas and issues that are the stuff of legal education; it brings alive the anxiety and competiveness--with others and, even more, with oneself--that set the tone in this crucible of character building. Turow's multidimensional delving into his protagonists' psyches and his marvelous gift for suspense prefigure the achievements of his celebrated first novel, Presumed Innocent, one of the best-selling and most talked about books of 1987.Each September, a new crop of students enter Harvard Law School to begin an intense, often grueling, sometimes harrowing year of introduction to the law. Turow's group of One Ls are fresh, bright, ambitious, and more than a little daunting. Even more impressive are the faculty: Perini, the dazzling, combative professor of contracts, who presents himself as the students' antagonist in their struggle to master his subject; Zechman, the reserved professor of torts who seems so indecisive the students fear he cannot teach; and Nicky Morris, a young, appealing man who stressed the humanistic aspects of law.Will the One Ls survive? Will they excel? Will they make the Law Review, the outward and visible sign of success in this ultra-conservative microcosm? With remarkable insight into both his fellows and himself, Turow leads us through the ups and downs, the small triumphs and tragedies of the year, in an absorbing and throught-provoking narrative that teaches the reader not only about law school and the law but about the human beings who make them what they are.In the new afterword for this edition of One L, the author looks back on law school from the perspective of ten years' work as a lawyer and offers some suggestions for reforming legal education.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 129 more reviews...
Other law students assume you have read this book August 8, 2008
I hear references to this book all the time in the halls of my law school and on fellow student's face book message boards. I do not go to a top tier law school like the author (he went to Harvard). I also have a different background than the author and our political views are not similar.
Nonetheless, this book does relate a lot of the experiences and attitudes a law student can expect to run across during the first year. The overly aggressive professor, the students who have a problem with those who succeed, the students who do not know how to succeed but annoy everyone with their efforts, the students who panic, the students who mooch, and the ever present fear that no person could ever master the amount of information a law student is expected to know by the time of the final...but someone will and they will push down the curve. Every law student has run across these types of people and experiences.
I do not think law school is as hard or stressful as the author seems to think it was. I am not sure he played up that aspect of the school for dramatic effect, he just can't handle stress, or life at Harvard Law School is really just that much more intense than my own. Still, reading this book gives a prospective student a taste of what is to come.
The book is very readable and I finished it quickly; however, it is not a classic I would recomend to everyone. I am not sure a person who has no interest in going to law school will really be that excited about reading "One L," but if you are thinking about going to law school, you should read this book.
 I have a better title: "Confessions of a Spoiled Overacheiver" July 10, 2008
This book was a joke. I have no doubt that Turow and his fellows at HLS did indeed conduct themselves with the frantic lunacy that he so wearyingly describes in this book. I'm sure he simply told the truth and that law school was indeed that miserable for him, but that is exactly the problem. Having been through 1L at a somewhat less elite school, I can assure you that its only as bad as you make it. That HLS is an even more competitive school than mine only adds credence to the one thing I must say to Turow and the rest of the HLS graduating class of 1978: Get over yourself. You graduated from HLS. You could have finished with a 2.00 GPA and still drowned in the job offers that many top performers of other law schools can only dream about.
"One L" is a severe disappointment. As I know that books about the law school experience are very popular gifts to students entering their own "1L," I have a duty to go ahead and tell you that for 99.992% of all students, this book is of absolutely no help in preparing someone for what they will face when they get to law school. Turow's view from America's tallest ivory tower not only presents an experience totally divorced from the real world, but does so in a ridiculously dramatized manner that forces upcoming law students to respond with either incredulity or sheer terror. Don't bother.
Good book to read before law school June 23, 2008
I thought this book is a good book to read before starting law school. Granted people must take into consideration that this is Harvard Law, set in the 70's and from one man's point of view. I enjoyed the book and found it interesting and insightful. I'm not taking everything he says in it as an absolute truth, but it does help to gain some insight into how one may feel while going through your first year of law school. I would recommend it to other people.
Dated, but insightful March 18, 2008
Turow offers great insight into the tribulation of first year law school that only a survivor can convey. If you are a reader simply curious to read about the stress of Harvard law school then I highly recommend this book. However, if you are a reader looking for a solid reference to the first year law school experience then you will probably find this book a little dissapointing. Turow tells a great story and emphasizes the high and lows of law school, but law school has changed a lot since the antiquated 70's and the commanding tone of Harvard Law does not necessarily resonate among all law schools. It's a good read overall but lacks applicability.
 great read February 5, 2008
For anyone interested in possibly attending law school--this is a must read. Turow is highly entertaining and informative throughout the book. Despite the many vicious and competitive scenarios, this book has encouraged my desire to attend law school. Even those of you who are not interested in a legal profession, it is a great read. Now i would like to read the sequel to this book.
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