Type of bind: Hardcover
Dewey Decimal Number: 340.071173
EAN num: 9780316320276
ISBN number: 0316320277
Label: Little Brown & Co (T)
Manufacturer: Little Brown & Co (T)
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 288
Printing Date: 1991-02
Publishing house: Little Brown & Co (T)
Sale Popularity Level: 1598012
Studio: Little Brown & Co (T)
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Anarchy and Elegance has been called the most creative book on law school in recent memory (John Jay Osborne, author of The Paper Chase) and A perceptive and insightful inside look at one of America s most influential institutions (Charles A. Reich, former Yale Law professor and author of The Greening of America); No one should go to law School without reading this book, says self-help law publisher Ralph Warner. Goodrich, taking readers through Yale Law s first-year curriculum and culture, demonstrates how learning to think like a lawyer can be both exhilarating and damaging.
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Rated by buyers 
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Goodrich has an enviable ability to write with eloquence and insightful introspection. His descriptions of his experiences and perceptions at Yale Law are the strongest parts of this account. However, I do not believe he succeeds in his endeavor to articulate a need for reform within America's system of legal education and its broader (negative) impact on American culture.
I agree with other reviewers who have criticized the moral outrage in Goodrich's narrative for coming across as contrived. Goodrich's decision to organize the book around 3 acts sort of acknowledges the artificial quality of the metamorphosis of his worldview - from naivete to cynicism to a disenchanted balance between the two. He does seem to exaggerate both the virgin idealism that he had at the beginning of the program and the subsequent dark night of the soul that his legal education thrusts upon him for the sake of telling a gripping story. I don't mind embellishment for the sake of better storytelling, however, he attempts to use this "devastating" experience to support his criticism of legal education. This strategy backfires because it makes his claims for the extent of "damage" that law school inflicts upon students seem unwarranted.
Had he simply written a Scott Turow-autobiographical-1L-in-hell sort of a book I would have given it 4 stars. However, Goodrich's endeavor to do more than autobiography - to preach a bit from his soapbox - is what earns the book 3 stars.
Rated by buyers 
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As a current 1L at YLS, I can vouch for the accuracy of Goodrich's account - even down to Guido's "Evil Deity" speech, which apparently remains unchanged 15 years later. In fact, not much seems to have changed at all in 15 years, which is a little daunting given Goodrich's insightful criticism of the state of legal education. This is an excellent book for anyone thinking of law school - both as preparation for the stressful academics of very first year, and for the tremendous and disconcerting shift in perspective and thought processes that nearly every law student undergoes. The author's description of the personal costs is a bit overdone at points - I at least have not observed such profound personality changes in any of my classmates - but the basic concept is sound. An entertaining and informative book.
Rated by buyers 
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Considering that Chris Goodrich was a Yale graduate himself, as well as editor of California Lawyer magazine prior to the start of his law fellowship (i.e. he's a smart guy), the man exhibits a striking degree of naivete about how the legal system works. He expresses shock and disappointment that the legal profession is not really about "helping people" or "finding the truth", but rather about doing one's best to represent the interests of one's client, and that whoever can present the best arguments usually wins. Goodrich's view of the law is so overly idealistic that it strains credulity. One can't help but wonder if it is only a manufactured device through which to write a book such as this.
The author goes on at length about the arrogance and pretentiousness of those in the legal profession, yet he himself exhibits the very same qualities in his condescending moralizing against its faults. Studying the law transforms one's soul (and not for the better), Goodrich says, and goes out of his way to let you know he is so much above all that. To be sure, Goodrich raises some valid points and concerns about the profession. But rather than attempting to examine them in an objective, journalistic fashion, he stakes out a self-righteous position of moral superiority, effectively concluding that he's glad he was able to successfully resist the temptation all his classmates succumbed to.
The book was not without its strong points, particularly in the very first half. The depiction of life as a first-year law student and the glimpses of the discussions that take place inside the lecture halls were nothing short of fascinating. The chapter devoted to the recruitment of students by law firms was also especially revealing.
However, these strengths were quickly drowned out by Goodrich's holier-than-thou tone. The second half, especially, consisted of rambling editorializing about the faults of law school, without offering much in the way of workable solutions, or without objectively examining why things exist as they do. The book concludes with Goodrich's graduation, where once more he can't help but point out his own superiority. He chooses not to wear the traditional robes and garb of the ceremony, instead donning a suit, then snidely remarking that to him, those wearing the robes appear to be constrained in straitjackets. Once again, Goodrich thinks he is better than everyone else, which ironically is one of the traits he professes to despise the most of those in the legal profession.
Rated by buyers 
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The kind of people that make the choice to sell their souls and begin their study of "the Law" are often typically the sort of overachieving people that overresearch, and look for ways to win the game several moves deep. As such, they peruse the different "how to do law school" books: Law School Confidential and Planet Law School being the foremost names in this category. That exhausted, they move on to Scott Turow's "1L", which is an autobigoraphical account of his very first year at Ha-vad, and from that, and repeated viewings of "the Paper Chase", get a picture of what their lives will soon be like. And often it is an erroneous picture.
This book is one man's endeavor to describe HIS 1L year (or his only L year, as he got the one-year M.L.S. or whatever it is called from Yale). This is a tremendously good book: it presents law school as most find it: the amorality, the confusion, the lack of praise, etc. inherent in conquoring that beast. And it's a pretty good read as far goes these books written by journalists posing as professional students. It's a DEFINATE must read for anyone who's making the mistake of trudging off to study these endless rules, but it's an interesting take on our society if you're not.
Totally, this is a book that you should read. I recommend it fully...
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