Oliver Wendell Holmes, Stephen Budiansky
Oliver Wendell Holmes, Stephen Budiansky
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Oliver Wendell Holmes
A Life in War, Law, and Ideas

Author: Stephen Budiansky

Narrator: Robertson Dean

Unabridged: 16 hr 38 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 05/28/2019

Synopsis

Oliver Wendell Holmes twice escaped death as a young Union officer in the Civil War when musket balls missed his heart and spinal cord by a fraction of an inch. He lived ever after with unwavering moral courage, unremitting scorn for dogma, and an insatiable intellectual curiosity.

Named to the Supreme Court by Theodore Roosevelt at age sixty-one, he served for nearly three decades, writing a series of famous, eloquent, and often dissenting opinions that would prove prophetic in securing freedom of speech, protecting the rights of criminal defendants, and ending the Court’s reactionary resistance to social and economic reforms. As a pioneering legal scholar, Holmes revolutionized the understanding of common law by showing how the law always evolved to meet the changing needs of society.

Drawing on many previously unpublished letters and records, Stephen Budiansky's definitive biography offers the fullest portrait yet of this pivotal American figure, whose zest for life, wit, and intellect left a profound legacy in law and Constitutional rights, and who was an inspiring example of how to lead a meaningful life in a world of uncertainty and upheaval.

About Stephen Budiansky

Stephen Budiansky is a military historian and the author of several books about military history, intelligence and espionage, science, and the natural world, including Battle of Wits, The Bloody Shirt, and Her Majesty's Spymaster. He received a master's degree in applied mathematics from Harvard University and worked on classified military studies as a Congressional Fellow. He is a former editor and writer at U.S. News & World Report and the Atlantic as well as the former Washington editor of the scientific journal Nature. His articles have appeared in the Economist, the New York Times, and U.S. News & World ReporT. He lives in Virginia.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Jean on December 05, 2020

This is a new biography of Oliver Wendell Holmes (1841-1935) published this year (2019). I have read a number of biographies about Holmes but most of those had a particular aspect of his life they focused on. This book is a complete thorough examination of Holmes’ life. Holmes is considered one of t......more

Goodreads review by Porter on July 14, 2019

This is my pick for 2020’s Pulitzer Prize in History or Biography. Oliver Wendell Holmes is one of the two or three most influential Supreme Court Justices America ever had, but most Americans know extremely little about him. Holmes was the most prodigious writers of Court Opinion ever. He wrote mor......more

Goodreads review by Ray on March 25, 2020

This is a great bio of one of the greatest justices of the US Supreme Court. Holmes' life was fascinating, from his Civil War service to his great decisions and dissents on the Court. You will learn a lot about the law and how it develops...so be prepared for close reading. But well worth the effort......more

Goodreads review by David on April 21, 2020

I have always admired the intellect, common sense, and personal style of Oliver Wendell Holmes, who served on the U.S. Supreme Court for over 30 years, from 1902-1932, and that admiration only grew stronger after reading this terrific biography. First, I was fascinated to learn of Holmes' experience......more

Goodreads review by Hill on June 01, 2019

I enjoyed this book very much. Inspirational biography. He read 4000 books from age 21 till his death (about a book a week). He set goals: to write an excellent law book by age 40, become a judge of the Massachusetts court and then supreme court justice and he achieved them all.......more

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