ONE L, Scott Turow's journal of his first
year at law school and a bestseller when it was first
published in 1977, has gone on to become a virtual bible
for prospective law students. Not only does it introduce
with remarkable clarity the ideas and issues that are the
stuff of legal education; it also brings alive the anxiety
and competitiveness—with others and, even more, with
oneself—that set the tone in this crucible of character
building.
Each September, a new crop of students enter Harvard Law
School to begin an intense, often grueling, sometimes
harrowing year of introduction to the law. Will the One
L's survive? Will they excel? Will they make the Law
Review, the outward and visible sign of success in this
ultra-competitive microcosm. With remarkable insight into
both his fellow students and himself, Turow leads us
through the ups and downs, the small triumphs and
tragedies of the year, in an absorbing and thought-
provoking narrative that teaches the listener not only
about law school and the law but also about the human
beings who make them what they are.