All rise for holiday cheer, Christmas is almost here! If you love reading as much as we do, you’re going to love this year’s “Season’s Readings” list! Here are our favorite cozy books (legal and otherwise) to enjoy this holiday season!
1. Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption by Bryan Stevenson.
“From one of the most brilliant and influential lawyers of our time comes an unforgettable true story about the redeeming potential of mercy. Bryan Stevenson was a gifted young attorney when he founded the Equal Justice Initiative, a legal practice dedicated to defending the poor, the wrongly condemned, and those trapped in the furthest reaches of our criminal justice system. One of his first cases was that of Walter McMillian, a young man sentenced to die for a notorious murder he didn’t commit. The case drew Stevenson into a tangle of conspiracy, political machination, and legal brinksmanship – and transformed his understanding of mercy and justice forever.” – Back cover.
- A Christmas Present for the President: a short history of the creation of the federal reserve system by Gerald T. Dunne.
This book focuses on the specific year in which the idea for the Federal Reserve became a reality, tracing the legislative process that culminated in President Woodrow Wilson signing the Federal Reserve Act into law on December 23, 1913, just before Christmas.
- Please Don’t Wish Me a Merry Christmas: a critical history of the separation of church and state by Stephen M. Feldman.
Nearly all discussions regarding the role of religion in American life build on two dominant assumptions: first, the separation of church and state is a constitutional principle that promotes democracy and equally protects the religious freedom of all Americans, especially religious outgroups; and second, this principle emerges as a uniquely American contribution to political theory. In Please Don’t Wish Me a Merry Christmas, Stephen M. Feldman challenges both these assumptions. He argues that the separation of church and state primarily manifests and reinforces Christian domination in American society. Furthermore, Feldman reveals that the separation of church and state did not first arise in America, either at the time of the constitutional framing or later.
- Charles Dickens in Chancery by Edward Tyrrell.
This book provides a look into the legal proceedings of the time, specifically focusing on copyright infringement cases, and offers “gossip” about the old Westminster law courts. It is considered a culturally significant work, though some modern reprints may have imperfections from the original artifacts.
