Academic

A Well-Paid Slave

By Tim Zinnecker

I grew up in the (then) small town of Warrenton, Missouri, about 60 miles west of St. Louis.  So I?m a die-hard Cardinals baseball fan.  Some of my fondest childhood memories are listening to Jack Buck call the games on KMOX radio.

For Christmas 2006, my parents gave me the book A Well-Paid Slave, a story that recounts Cardinal outfielder Curt Flood?s epic legal challenge to baseball?s reserve clause and quest for free agency.  (Detroit fans will remember that it was Curt Flood?s miscue on a ball hit by Jim Northrup in the seventh game of the 1968 World Series that permitted Mickey Lolich to outduel Bob Gibson.)

Fast forward several months to September 2007.  I?m chairing our faculty appointments committee and reviewing a batch of FAR forms submitted by several of the 13,279 candidates interested in becoming law professors (only two of whom express an interest in teaching UCC courses, so I feel somewhat safe).  I come across a form submitted by candidate Brad Snyder.  I notice his publications include a book titled A Well-Paid Slave.  That night I run to my bookshelves and confirm that he indeed is the author of the book that has been sitting on my shelf (with at least another 100 awaiting my attention).

Our committee invites Brad to interview with us in DC, and he agrees.  And before the AALS Faculty Recruitment Conference I pull Brad?s book off the shelf and read it.  (Yes, I did bring the book with me to DC, and Brad was kind enough to autograph it for me!  And we had a great interview!!)

I greatly enjoyed the book, which I think should find an audience among readers of this blog for a variety of reasons.  Are you a baseball fan?  Have any interest in labor issues?  Consider yourself an antitrust expert?  Do you root for the underdog?  Want to know more ?behind the scenes? details about a case that made its way to the Supreme Court?  Would you consider hiring a former Supreme Court justice to argue your case before the Court?  (Hint: might be a big mistake!)

Consider adding A Well-Paid Slave to your reading list this baseball season (which begins next week).  Additional information on the book can be found at several links, including here, here, here, here, here, here, and here.

And did Brad?s trip to the ?meat market? yield success?  Yes indeed.  Brad (pictured) is in his first year as an assistant professor at the University of Wisconsin Law School, where he teaches civil procedure, constitutional law, and legal history.  A current piece of his scholarship, What Would Justice Holmes Do (WWJHD)?:  Rehnquist?s Plessy Memo, Majoritarianism, and Parents Involved, is available here.

Full post as published by The Faculty Lounge on March 30, 2009 (boomark / email).