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 competitivenessβwith others and, even more, with oneselfβthat 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.
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