Louis D. Brandeis

American Prophet

De: Jeffrey Rosen

Narrado por: Traber Burns

A riveting new examination of the leading progressive Supreme Court justice of his era.

According to Jeffrey Rosen, Louis D. Brandeis was "the Jewish Jefferson", the greatest critic of what he called "the curse of bigness" in business and government since the author of the Declaration of Independence. Published to commemorate the 100th anniversary of his Supreme Court confirmation on June 1, 1916, Louis D. Brandeis: American Prophet argues that Brandeis was the most farseeing constitutional philosopher of the 20th century. In addition to writing the most famous article on the right to privacy, he also wrote the most important Supreme Court opinions about free speech, freedom from government surveillance, and freedom of thought and opinion. And as the leader of the American Zionist movement, he convinced Woodrow Wilson and the British government to recognize a Jewish homeland in Palestine.

Combining narrative biography with a passionate argument for why Brandeis matters today, Rosen explores what Brandeis, the Jeffersonian prophet, can teach us about historic and contemporary questions involving the Constitution, monopoly, corporate and federal power, technology, privacy, free speech, and Zionism.

©2016 Jeffrey Rosen (P)2016 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Wonderful

The best part about these biographies is the concise length.
You achieve it without losing the essence of what it is to write biography as history.
Between this book and the Taft book I’ve walked away with a tremendous amount of easily digestible knowledge I’d not have access to without your efforts. Actually great to listen to Taft and this book in order.
Thank you Jeff!

Good overview of Brandeis

This book gives a good overview of his philosophies and opinions. It is ideal for anyone that has an interest in U.S. law or the legal history of the United States.

A man of character and conviction.

A great deal of useful information and well managed subtext. There were a few books to choose from, I’m glad I read this one.

Well Done & Aptly Named

While I may have some difference of opinion with the author, I am very happy that the story of this man had been told in relevance to the 21st century.

Maybe the finest biography I have ever “read”

Wonderfully written and read. I practiced law for 45 years and read many of Brandeis’ in law school and thereafter but this work gave me a much better insight in the man and Justice than I ever had. Highly recommended!

A quick, informative enjoyable read!

Very enjoyable if you are interested in Brandeis’ life and thought process. A mini-biography that focuses on his ideas. Author writes eloquently in connecting Brandeis to the past such as Thomas Jefferson and to the present with privacy rights. Narrator does not change his tone much, which may sound boring to some listeners (I didn’t mind too often). However, I flew through this book and I recommend it to anyone who would like to learn more about Brandeis in a manageable time frame

Excellent

I learned so much that I did not know about Louis Brandeis. He was so hùman and so superhuman.

Honest and clean biography

There is something for everyone to love, and to hate in this book. This biography is unapologetic, deeply researched, honest and like all historical persons, complicated. What emerges is a portrait of man who got some things right, other things very wrong, but who nevertheless endeavored to better himself and his understanding of the justice.

Whether you’re on the left, right, center or off the chart, there is something in the book for you to love. That is not to say that all parties will agree on the items they love, but that’s the point. If it was slanted so only one political view point was happy, it wouldn’t be worth reading (or in this case listening to).

I could not make it through

I really, really wanted to like this book.

I love Con Law and the SCOTUS. The author speaks to themes that are near and dear to my heart: the size of government, freedom vs. regulation, etc.

I listened to about 1/2 before I gave up.

This book is just too dry and the narration is just too flat.

Disappointed.

Not a Biography

As an environmental lawyer for 45 years (12 years as a Federal Judge) I was looking for a mid-length biography of Justice Brandeis, one of our most brilliant and distinguished legal minds. I had hoped to learn of his personal life and background and the growth and development of his person and his judicial philosophy.

I was out of luck.

Listening to this book, one would be forgiven for forgetting that Brandies died in 1941. This is because Rosen spends 10% of the book talking about Jefferson and 40% talking about the 1980s, 1990s, 2000s, etc. Scant attention to Brandeis the person. Innumerable sentences begin with the phrase "Brandeis would have." Brandeis "would have" approved X, or opposed Y, or have been outraged at Z. After a short while, the phrase "Brandeis would have" grates on the nerves and forewarns you that Rosen is not a biographer, but is simply using Brandeis' name to promote Rosen's progressive agenda.

If you want to learn about and try to understand Brandeis as a person or jurist, this is not the book for you.