Most Recent Book

noreply@blogger.com (Alan Dershowitz) — Tue, 26 Oct 2010 03:52:00 +0000

Emma, the 26-year-old daughter of celebrity lawyer Abe Ringel (whose quirky, sometimes quixotic career resembles the Dershowitz's own), goes to Israel despite Abe's misgivings. Emma, a recent Yale law school graduate, plans to help defend a terrorist bomber accused of setting off an explosion that has killed several of the world's leaders. Deadly complications force Abe to step in and get involved in trials whose outcomes could threaten the lives of those who are nearest to him. Besides showcasing the differences between the Israeli and American systems, these trials raise ethical questions that are, as always in this series, the real heart of the matter.

Buy on Amazon.com | Buy on BN.com

noreply@blogger.com (Alan Dershowitz) — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 16:48:00 +0000

The Case For Moral Clarity: Israel, Hamas and Gaza (April 2009): Hamas's tactic of playing Russian roulette with the lives of Israeli children by firing thousands of rockets at a million Israelis, while employing human shields in order to maximize Palestinian civilian casualties, is pure evil. The Israeli decision to respond to this unlawful and immoral provocation by targeting the terrorists and their rockets is pure self-defense, authorized by international law, the United Nations Charter and universally accepted moral principles. Yet most of the world remained silent about, and many even supported, the Hamas evil tactic.

noreply@blogger.com (Alan Dershowitz) — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 20:59:00 +0000

Finding, Framing, and Hanging Jefferson: A Lost Letter, a Remarkable Discovery, and Freedom of Speech in an Age of Terrorism (April 2009): Contemplating whether the government could censor imams whose preaching might incite terrorism, Harvard law professor Dershowitz (Blasphemy) wondered what Thomas Jefferson would say about where to draw the appropriate line, between dangerous speech and harmful conduct. Dershowitz found an answer in New York's Argosy Bookstore, where he stumbled over a letter written by Jefferson on July 3, 1801, addressing the limits of free speech, especially religious and political speech. Based in part on his reading of Jefferson, Dershowitz concludes that we ought not to censor the speech of even the most violent religious leaders. Echoing Jefferson, he says that liberty is dangerous and adds that in any case censorship would not prevent either violence or incitement to it.

noreply@blogger.com (Alan Dershowitz) — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 20:58:00 +0000

The Case Against Israel's Enemies: Exposing Jimmy Carter and Others Who Stand in the Way of Peace (November 2008): The explicit intent of this confrontational book is to intellectually engage prominent enemies of Israel in the open marketplace of ideas. Harvard law professor Dershowitz (The Case for Israel) begins with a vehement denunciation of his onetime friend Jimmy Carter, and he concludes with an appendix that systematically refutes many claims advanced in Carter's book Palestine Peace Not Apartheid. Though the former president receives Dershowitz's most thorough criticism, the author also identifies and scrutinizes many other enemies, from Noam Chomsky and Patrick Buchanan to Hezbollah and the Iranian government. Dershowitz assumes the posture of a litigator, but his deep convictions and previous history with many of the book's subjects lend a more personal tone to his critiques, as Dershowitz himself admits. Chapters on terrorism and Iran, which are less targeted at specific individuals, take a more effective philosophical and historical approach.

noreply@blogger.com (Alan Dershowitz) — Sun, 01 Jun 2008 20:57:00 +0000

Blasphemy: How the Religious Right is Hijacking the Declaration of Independence (June 2008): This author, if it needs explaining, is a renowned lawyer and Harvard law professor, author of several best-selling books, and an abiding advocate and defender of personal rights and freedoms. Although he never shies away from taking controversial positions, he supports those stands in clear prose. All these aspects hold true in his new book, which begins boldly: "The Religious Right is engaged in a crusade to convert the United States into a Christian theocracy based on the Bible and, more specifically, on the divine authority of Jesus Christ." Dershowitz accuses the Religious Right of using words and phrases found in the Declaration of Independence as indications that the founding of the nation--the intentions of our Founding Fathers, that is--was based on Christian precepts. The major step he takes in refuting this idea, which he finds dangerous, is to negate the concept that the Declaration, despite such language as "Creator" and "Divine Providence," is a document of equal legal state to the Constitution. The Declaration is indeed a vital document but one for all freedom-loving people who cherish the separation of church and state. This book will prompt intense dialogue--surely the author's intention.

noreply@blogger.com (Alan Dershowitz) — Wed, 01 Aug 2007 20:52:00 +0000

What Israel Means to Me: By 80 Prominent Writers, Performers, Scholars, Politicians, and Journalists (August 2007): Harvard law professor Dershowitz is out to defend Israel again"this time, with a little help from his friends. In this volume, some 80 writers, scholars and journalists, many of them prominent figures, most of them Jewish, contribute short pieces about the meaning of Israel in their lives. The breadth of authors is impressive, from Sen. Norm Coleman of Minnesota and the Rev. Pat Robertson to the actresses Natalie Portman (Jewish, born in Israel) and Christina Applegate (not Jewish, visited Israel). As might be expected, many of the pieces emphasize the writer's emotional connection to the Jewish state. Some are prone to hyperbole (former Cabinet member William Bennett counts himself "among the millions of Americans who see America's fate and Israel's fate as one"), while others are overly sentimental. But to Dershowitz's credit, the collection includes selections from more nuanced and critical thinkers. Rep. Barney Frank of Massachusetts points out the importance of Israel as a haven for Palestinian gays and lesbians, while noting that Israel has a way to go in ridding itself of homophobia. Some authors oppose Israel's existence or, like Israeli politician Shulamit Aloni and American Jewish activist Michael Lerner, are critical of Israeli policy in the West Bank, in essays that may expand the readership for this collection beyond the usual pro-Israel suspects.

noreply@blogger.com (Alan Dershowitz) — Thu, 01 Feb 2007 21:49:00 +0000

Preemption: A Knife That Cuts Both Ways (Issues of Our Time) (February 2007): Children of deposed kings, sovereign nation states, terrorist organizations, alleged witches-all have been targets, at some point in history, of preemptive action. Whether such action was justified whether the results were as intended and whether the political fallout was tolerable are the factors that complicate this alluring concept, as explored by Dershowitz. Though one might expect Dershowitz to capitalize on the obvious example of the invasion of Iraq (as illustrated by the cover photograph of smoke rising over the Tigris), Dershowitz focuses a good share of this cautious study on Israel, where the policy of preemption has been practiced for decades, to varying degrees of success. The country's 1967 strike against Egypt and Syria to begin the Six-Day War comes as close to perfect preemption as any event in recent history, but that success has proved difficult if not impossible to repeat. If this book is divisive, it's only because Dershowitz calls into question any hardline view, pro or con, of a practice that depends on circumstance and calculated risk-and even then hinges on what the public is willing to accept (profiling, assassinations, a nuclear strike) in the name of a safer tomorrow.

noreply@blogger.com (Alan Dershowitz) — Tue, 01 Aug 2006 20:55:00 +0000

The Case for Peace: How the Arab-Israeli Conflict Can be Resolved (August 2006): While holding out hope for a settlement of the Palestinian-Israeli dispute, this lively polemic carries on the fierce war of words over the conflict. Harvard Law professor Dershowitz, author of The Case For Israel, feels that, with Arafat's death and a new Palestinian leadership, prospects for peace have brightened. He endorses the "obvious" two-state solution suggested by Ehud Barak's ill-fated 2000 proposals and the recent non-governmental Geneva accords, involving Israel's withdrawal from Gaza and most of the West Bank (except for some large Jewish settlements), divided sovereignty over Jerusalem and some "recognition" of Palestinian refugees by Israel without an absolute "right of return." Dershowitz continues to back such controversial Israeli actions as the targeted assassination of suspected terrorists and the construction of the West Bank security wall, but acknowledges a common interest in peace which must be protected from extremists on both sides. He is less conciliatory toward outside supporters of the Palestinians, whom he accuses of opposing peace and seeking "the destruction of the Jewish State," citing everything from anti-Semitic ravings in the Arab press to Western academics who violate his 28-point guidelines for separating legitimate criticism of Israel from anti-Semitism. He particularly targets the "real and acknowledged" conspiracy of "anti-Israel, anti-peace, anti-truth zealots" Noam Chomsky, Alexander Cockburn and Norman Finkelstein and offers a detailed rebuttal of Finkelstein's recent anti-Dershowitz broadside Beyond Chutzpah.

noreply@blogger.com (Alan Dershowitz) — Thu, 01 Dec 2005 21:46:00 +0000

Rights From Wrongs: A Secular Theory of the Origins of Rights (December 2005): "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." These rights are as cherished today as when Thomas Jefferson enumerated them 231 years ago, but traditional faith isn't doing as well (witness Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, and Christopher Hitchens). If God goes, do our rights go with him? Not according to Alan Dershowitz, who in Rights from Wrongs proposes the theory that they come not from God (theists have no monopoly on moral behavior), nature (whose first rule is selfishness), or the law itself (Dershowitz is no fan of legal positivism). Rather, he argues that, in a sense, two wrongs do make a right: that our rights are built from the ground up, in the manner of the common law: we "agree upon the least desirable ways of life and seek to protect against those evils." Dershowitz is likely to lose some readers, especially those who trend toward the right, in the book's second half, where he begins to apply his theory to issues including organ donation, separation of church and state, animal rights, and immigration.

noreply@blogger.com (Alan Dershowitz) — Mon, 01 Aug 2005 20:34:00 +0000

The Case for Israel (August 2005): Noting that he has been working on versions of these arguments since 1967, famed Harvard law professor Dershowitz offers "a proactive defense of Israel," a kind of amicus brief to "the court of public opinion." Not least among the exhibits are a WWII-era Muslim Palestinian leader who was "a full fledged Nazi war criminal, and he was so declared at Nuremberg"; a "vastly underpopulated" late 19th-century Palestine, to which European Jews began emigrating; and a 75-year-long Arab-Israeli war that features "Arab nations dedicated to genocidal aggression against civilians." Each of the 32 chapters begins with a commonly heard accusation against Israel, with long quotes from reputable "Accusers" (including newspapers and intellectuals), followed by "The Reality" as Dershowitz sees it, and "The Proof," often drawing on the historical record.

noreply@blogger.com (Alan Dershowitz) — Sun, 01 May 2005 20:37:00 +0000

America on Trial: Inside the Legal Battles That Transformed Our Nation (May 2005): Harvard professor and prolific author Dershowitz takes readers on a tour through some of the most celebrated-and intriguing-cases in the U.S. during the past 300 years. He begins with the most famous case in American colonial history-the Salem witch trial, which resulted in the deaths of 19 people-and continues through the current day, with the not yet decided case of the 9/11 detainees at Guantánamo Bay. Many of the 60 or so cases are famous (the Dred Scott decision, the Rosenberg trial), but others have been forgotten. Not surprisingly, the number of cases increase as he approaches recent history, and while there are some scandalous cases from the past, the majority of headline-grabbers, such as the O.J. Simpson trial and the Jean Harris-Scarsdale Diet doctor murder, are contemporary cases.

noreply@blogger.com (Alan Dershowitz) — Fri, 01 Apr 2005 20:39:00 +0000

Letters to a Young Lawyer (Art of Mentoring) (April 2005): Dershowitz helps inaugurate a new series called the Art of Mentoring with this volume of advice and reflection on practicing law. Several unifying themes run throughout, most prominently the ethical traps for defense attorneys, prosecutors and even judges inherent in the practice of criminal law. Dershowitz alerts a fledgling lawyer to the systemic bias, corner-cutting and outright cheating that he sees permeating the criminal courts. While Dershowitz recognizes the ethical ambiguity that suffuses much of the law, he is more concerned with communicating the moral absolutes he believes in. These include the uncompromising obligation of a defense lawyer to work for the accused's acquittal by all legitimate means. A believer in telling the truth, Dershowitz excoriates deceitful lawyers and hypocritical judges alike. Along with the moral imperatives, the author tells some war stories and settles a few scores, for example, with critics who took him to task for defending O.J. Simpson, and with the Supreme Court, whose decision in the 2000 election case Dershowitz finds dishonest and unprincipled. The young lawyer (to whom these mini-essays are addressed) will perceive how ethically messy and complicated the law can be and how many core issues in our national life the law touches. Even more, the reader will come away with a sense of Dershowitz himself as teacher, tenacious advocate and self-described provocateur.

noreply@blogger.com (Alan Dershowitz) — Mon, 01 Sep 2003 20:14:00 +0000

Why Terrorism Works: Understanding the Threat, Responding to the Challenge (September 2003): Against the backdrop of the U.S.-led war on terrorism, the renowned criminal defense and civil liberties attorney argues forcefully that the attacks of September 11 were largely of our own doing the international community, Dershowitz says, repeatedly rewards terrorists with appeasement and legitimization, refusing to take the necessary steps to curtail attacks. While the broad scope of this argument is inadequately supported, as it draws evidence almost exclusively from the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Dershowitz, like many others, views September 11 as a turning point and aptly advocates such measures as national identification cards, increased border security, improved coordination among federal agencies and refusal to give an ear to terrorists' demands. More controversially, he devotes a full chapter to the use of torture against terrorists to obtain information about imminent attacks.

noreply@blogger.com (Alan Dershowitz) — Sat, 01 Mar 2003 21:19:00 +0000

America Declares Independence (March 2003): These are dire times for the Declaration of Independence, Dershowitz believes. The religious right has hijacked the document for its own wily purposes, holding that phrases such as "Nature's God," "Creator" and "Divine Providence" are proof that the Founding Fathers intended America to be an explicitly Christian nation. Not so, cries the noted Harvard Law School professor and prolific author (Supreme Injustice, etc.). To prove his case, Dershowitz focuses mainly on Thomas Jefferson, showing that the Declaration's principal author thought most of the Bible was superstitious drivel: he did not believe in miracles, the devil or anything in the Gospels except that certain words were spoken by Jesus. Rather, Jefferson believed in a deistic God, who set the world in motion and then went on vacation. Jefferson didn't think religion should have anything to do with politics. Thus, Dershowitz says, when Jefferson used the phrases "Nature's God" and "Divine Providence," his contemporaries-most of whom were also deists -understood and approved of his intent.

noreply@blogger.com (Alan Dershowitz) — Fri, 01 Nov 2002 20:52:00 +0000

Supreme Injustice: How the High Court Hijacked Election 2000 (November 2002): Dershowitz renowned lawyer, best-selling author, and member of the Harvard Law Faculty skillfully analyzes the U.S. Supreme Court's role and controversial ruling in Bush v. Gore. After outlining the central political and legal aspects of the Supreme Court's arguments, he uncovers key inconsistencies in the majority ruling and shows how they altered key "equal protection" ideas. He also examines possible constitutional foundations for this ruling. Dershowitz argues that Supreme Court justices "hijacked Election 2000 by distorting the law, violating their own expressed principles, and using their robes to bring about a partisan result." He seriously asks whether the Supreme Court has damaged its ability to decide national issues and has damaged the political system as well. This well-reasoned and controversial book asks central questions about American democracy and the role of citizens and courts in our society.

noreply@blogger.com (Alan Dershowitz) — Tue, 01 Jan 2002 21:05:00 +0000

Shouting Fire: Civil Liberties in a Turbulent Age (January 2002): Human rights come from human wrongs, argues famed criminal and civil rights lawyer Dershowitz; only by looking closely at past injustice we can construct a theory and law that attempts a more perfect justice. This collection of 55 short pieces (some new, most reprinted) maps out Dershowitz's thoughts on a wide range of legal and social topics: the role of psychiatry in the legal process, the problems of how the U.S. legal system chooses judges, the misuses of entrapment and "sting" operations even when used to correct an injustice, the history and legal ramifications of the death penalty.

noreply@blogger.com (Alan Dershowitz) — Thu, 01 Feb 2001 20:34:00 +0000

The Genesis of Justice: 10 Stories of Biblical Injustice That Led to the 10 Commandments and Modern Morality and Law (February 2001): A Harvard Law School faculty member since 1964, Dershowitz is noted for representing controversial and unpopular clients. In addition to tomes on the law and two novels, he wrote a 1987 book prescribing a remedy to save American Jews (The Vanishing American Jew). In this further demonstration of his versatility, he turns to 10 stories from Genesis to demonstrate how the Bible provides a basis for contemporary ideas about justice and injustice. The narratives deal with Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel, Abraham, Lot, Jacob, Dina, Tamar and Joseph. Dershowitz includes a translation of each story, recounts some theological commentaries and offers his own interpretations. He acknowledges the failings of the biblical characters, pointing out that they were guilty of deception, lust, crime, incest, revenge and murder. Their problematic actions highlighted the need for the laws that appear later in the Torah, starting with Exodus and the Ten Commandments. The book concludes with four chapters on "The Genesis of Justice in the Injustice of Genesis." Dershowitz argues that the "bad actions" depicted in Genesis gave rise to the "common law of justice." He addresses the question of theodicy, claiming that the belief in the hereafter solves the problem of why evil exists on earth. Finally, he asserts that the stories he has examined explain the need for judicial codes.

noreply@blogger.com (Alan Dershowitz) — Wed, 01 Sep 1999 19:29:00 +0000

Just Revenge: A Novel (September 1999) Who determines justice? In this thought-provoking and ambitious novel, lawyer and Harvard professor Dershowitz creates a decide-for-yourself scenario that is both chilling and life affirming. Elderly scholar Max Menuchen is a Holocaust survivor who endures haunting memories of the 1942 massacre of his infant son, pregnant wife and extended family in Vilna, Lithuania. His grandfather's last cry for revenge echoes constantly in his mind, even after he emigrates to America and builds a successful career. Finally, after a lifetime of survivor guilt, a chance encounter in Cambridge, Mass., leads him to the Nazi killer of his family, Marcelus Prandus, who lives nearby, surrounded by his children and grandchildren, his past never revealed to his American-born family. To prosecute him for war crimes appears to be futile. Prandus is terminally ill and would die before any trial came to pass. Overcome with frustration and a burning need to avenge his family's deaths, Max, an otherwise gentle, kindly academic, conceives a plan to punish Prandus that is both shocking and brilliant. Ultimately, a psychologically devastated Prandus takes his own life. Is Max responsible for his death? Were his actions morally acceptable? And of immediate relevance, were they legal?

noreply@blogger.com (Alan Dershowitz) — Sun, 01 Nov 1998 20:15:00 +0000

Sexual McCarthyism: Clinton, Starr, and the Emerging Constitutional Crisis (November 1998): Bestselling author and Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz examines the real story behind the titillating headlines of the Clinton-Lewinsky affair and finds one of the most insidious and serious constitutional crises in modern American history. The greatest threat to the future of the American presidency may turn on whether Bill Clinton lied under oath. But the media's voyeuristic prurience has obscured the very real matters at the heart of the Starr investigation. In Sexual McCarthyism, Alan Dershowitz addresses the issues that transcend mere headlines, their long-term importance and possible effects

noreply@blogger.com (Alan Dershowitz) — Tue, 01 Sep 1998 18:42:00 +0000

The Vanishing American Jew: In Search of Jewish Identity for the Next Century (September 1998): Many people know of high-profile lawyer and Harvard Law School professor Dershowitz from the well-mined stories of his defense of celebrities from Claus von Bulow to O.J. Simpson. In this work, Dershowitz switches gears and talks about a subject closer to home: Jewish identity and destiny, previously touched on in his autobiography, Chutzpah (LJ 6/1/91). Dershowitz feels that Jewish identity is slowly dissolving in our American culture. Jews have been busy defining themselves in too negative a sense: anti-Semitism has been a rallying cry. He feels that American Jews, even agnostics like himself, have to reawaken to the treasures of Jewish culture and tradition. His call to action has some echoes of an earlier book, Leonard J. Fein's Where Are We?: The Inner Life of American Jews (LJ 5/15/88). What makes this offering so compulsively readable is Dershowitz's clear writing style and bountiful use of Jewish humor to illustrate his points. His prescription for change is likely to provoke disagreement and debate. Libraries serving a Jewish clientele should be sure to purchase.

noreply@blogger.com (Alan Dershowitz) — Sat, 01 Feb 1997 19:14:00 +0000

Reasonable Doubts: The Criminal Justice System and the O.J. Simpson Case (February 1997): Through this brilliant, bold, and eye-opening account of the O.J. Simpson case, he exposes the realities of the criminal justice system of this country. Widely recognized as America's leading appellate attorney and by any measure a great lawyer. Dershowitz was the man chosen to prepare the appeal if Simpson had been convicted. Now Professor Dershowitz steps back from that role, not to defend the defense team, nor even to plead the case for his client's innocence. Instead, he uses the case to examine the larger issues and to identify the social forces - media, money, gender, and race - that shape the criminal justice system in America today.

noreply@blogger.com (Alan Dershowitz) — Tue, 01 Nov 1994 18:16:00 +0000

The Advocate's Devil (November 1994): Taking the case of a professional basketball player accused of rape, a high-powered defense attorney is confident that he can win, but struggles with the morality of defending a client who may be guilty. From the legal tactician who has represented such famous clients as Mike Tyson, O.J. Simpson, and Michael Milken, comes a novel that goes far beyond the limits of the courtroom thriller to probe our deepest fears and asks the controversial legal question—What do you do if you are a defense attorney who suspects your client is guilty and dangerous?

noreply@blogger.com (Alan Dershowitz) — Sat, 01 Oct 1994 17:51:00 +0000

The Abuse Excuse: And Other Cop-Outs, Sob Stories, and Evasions of Responsibility (October 1994): More and more criminal defendants are claiming a history of abuse to avoid accountability for their behavior. Harvard Law School professor Dershowitz (Chutzpah) views battered wife syndrome, "black rage," the "crime of passion" mitigation, sexual abuse syndrome and other defenses as "abuse excuses." In his blistering critique, Dershowitz sees such ploys and jurors' sympathetic responses to them as an abdication of individual and societal responsibility. Despite the author's attempt to link these 68 articles and essays under the broad theme of denial of accountability, this is a miscellany of his feisty views on such defendants as Michael Jackson, Erik and Lyle Menendez, John Demjanjuk, Woody Allen and William Kennedy Smith, as well as Serbian genocide, U.S. feminists' anti-pornography campaigns and Germany's lax prosecution of Nazi war criminals. Dershowitz, a consultant to the O.J. Simpson defense team, intimates that Simpson might have to use some variation of the abuse excuse-a glaring irony that blunts his book's impact.

noreply@blogger.com (Alan Dershowitz) — Tue, 01 Sep 1992 17:14:00 +0000

Contrary to Popular Opinion (September 1992): In his syndicated newspaper column, Harvard Law School professor Dershowitz (Chutzpah) comments on contemporary legal and public policy issues. The self-described "civil libertarian"p. xiii is himself often newsworthy as the attorney for prominent criminal defendants such as Leona Helmsley and, of late, Mia Farrow. Mike Tyson. He states that he uses the publicity generated by these cases, about which many people have made up their minds in advance of trial, to highlight vital legal questions. The 150 columns, articles and essays collected here offer lively, challenging explorations of important debates. Divided into five parts, the book covers the range of Dershowitz's concerns: the courts, right- and left-wing intolerance, the First Amendment, abortion, women's rights, the death penalty and anti-Semitism. His thoughts are provocative and well worth reading.

noreply@blogger.com (Alan Dershowitz) — Fri, 01 May 1992 17:10:00 +0000

Chutzpah (May 1992): Leo Rosten, in his The Joys of Yiddish ( LJ 10/1/68), defines chutzpah as "gall, brazen nerve, effrontery, incredible 'guts,' presumption plus arrogance such as no other word and no other language can do justice to." Dershowitz ( Reversal of Fortune , LJ 4/1/86 ) , perhaps the most famous lawyer in the United States today, argues here that U.S. Jewry should shed its second-class citizenship syndrome and show a little chutzpah in defining its relationship with gentile, Christian America. He pleads that U.S. Jews have nothing to be ashamed of, since they have made vital contributions to the nation and deserve the same rights and privileges as their gentile compatriots. His thesis ranges through a spectrum of fascinating essays about anti-Semitism on college campuses, the state of Israel, the Holocaust, Auschwitz, the Jewish religion, and church/state relations. Brilliant, provocative, controversial, and as "chutzpadik" as its author, this book should have a wide audience and is enthusiastically recommended for public library collections.