John Orth has long been the quintessential legal historian, combining as he does encyclopedic knowledge, an eye for the revealing detail, and a broad, humanistic vision of law. This brilliant personal restatement of the history of the common law in America is a masterpiece. Anyone interested in why and how American law became what it is novice or expert should read it.
H. Jefferson Powell, Duke University School of Law, US.
For centuries, scholars have sought to explain the common law by writing treatises. Professor Orth has taken a divergent path: This is a biography of the greatest idea in western law, told through illuminating stories of its relations with great lawyers, and with other great ideas. It will move and provoke both the aged scholar and the new student.
Ross E. Davies, George Mason University Scalia School of Law, and Editor of The Green Bag, US.
John Orth seeks nothing less than to restore that sense of wonder, mystery, delight, and, actually, romance, that the best lawyers and judges in America and England have understood for three centuries. This is a book that could only have been written by a master scholar, after decades of reflection, teaching and analysis, which Orth displays with a style and flair that I think is unmatched among American historians of the law. The book is written at a high level but can still be understood by beginning students of law and culture.
Stephen Presser, Raoul Berger Professor of Legal History Emeritus, Northwestern University, Pritzker School of Law, US.
