Legal Commentary

An always useful topic for collective discussion is what should a person read the summer before starting law school. 

Of course, One L by Scott Turow is the modern classic, and it is still probably worth a read even though it is now a bit dated.   One of my favorite recommendations is  Broken Contract by Richard Kahlenberg, which does a nice job exploring how law school turns motivated public-spirited individuals into amoral solvers of legal problems.   And for a lighter read, future law students might check out the new Lawyer Boy by Rick Lax, which amusingly explores the experience of someone who was essentially fated to go to law school by accident of birth.

Eugene Volokh covered this question here last year, and I especially liked the commentor who recommended a cover-to-cover reading of the Constitution.   Helpfully, New York Law School's Library has this on-line multimedia bibliography of "Books & Films on Law & Law School" providing lots of ideas.

But perhaps folks through the comments might aspire to be a bit more innovative.  In a world heavy with law and legal ideas, there are surely lots of fiction and non-fiction works that may not immediately spring to mind, but still would be especially valuable for a future law student to consume.  Seeking to be innovative, I'd probably recommend some piece of legal or social history such as the collection of essays in The Oxford History of the Prison.

Any truly innovative suggestions, dear readers?

Cross posted at Law School Innovation.