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Oliver Wendell Holmes: A Life in War, Law, and Ideas
Oliver Wendell Holmes: A Life in War, Law, and Ideas | Stephen Budiansky
5 posts | 2 read | 4 to read
The extraordinary story of the U.S. Supreme Courts most influential justice. Oliver Wendell Holmes twice escaped death as a young Union officer in the Civil War when musket balls missed his heart and spinal cord by a fraction of an inch at the Battles of Balls Bluff and Antietam. He lived ever after with unwavering moral courage, unremitting scorn for dogma, and an insatiable intellectual curiosity. Named to the Supreme Court by Theodore Roosevelt at age sixty-one, he served for nearly three decades, writing a series of famous, eloquent, and often dissenting opinions that would prove prophetic in securing freedom of speech, protecting the rights of criminal defendants, and ending the Courts reactionary resistance to social and economic reforms. As a pioneering legal scholar, Holmes revolutionized the understanding of common law by showing how the law always evolved to meet the changing needs of society. As an enthusiastic friend and indefatigable correspondent, he wrote thousands of personal letters brimming with humorous philosophical insights, trenchant comments on the current scene, and an abiding joy in fighting the good fight. Drawing on many previously unpublished letters and records, Stephen Budianskys definitive biography offers the fullest portrait yet of this pivotal American figure, whose zest for life, wit, and intellect left a profound legacy in law and Constitutional rights, and who was an inspiring example of how to lead a meaningful life in a world of uncertainty and upheaval.
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wanderinglynn
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Early congrats @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks on your upcoming milestones! 🎉🙌🏻🥳🥂

And thanks for the opportunity to enter your #5N5giveaway 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

1. This is really a tough question because I read a lot of great books last year. I chose the tagged because it was the last 5 ⭐️ read of 2019 for me.
2. Wow, No Thank You by Samantha Irby

Megabooks Irby‘s I have preordered! Come on Tuesday!! 4y
Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks Thanks Lynn!! I have you added!! 🎊🥰🙌🏻🎉📚 4y
64 likes1 stack add2 comments
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wanderinglynn
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#litsylearn

1. I‘ve lived in 6 states.
I graduated high school at 16.
I was in a sorority in college.

2. I read several excellent books last year. The tagged was one of those.

3. Winnie-the-Pooh. He‘s very zen and I‘d like to just hang out in the 100 Acre Wood, play games with Roo & Piglet, and eat honey.

Alora Ouhhh I love your answer to 3! Winnie The Pooh would be awesome to meet! 😍 4y
Alora I‘m going to guess the lie is that you graduated highschool at 16?! 4y
runswithscissors007 I guess the same lie... high school at 16. Also, I have been to the 100 acre wood AND played Pooh sticks there. It was dreamy! Highly recommend. That was probably 25 years ago tho.... 4y
wanderinglynn Apparently I am a bad liar! 😂 You are correct @Alora & @runswithscissors007 4y
runswithscissors007 @wanderinglynn I always guess the second one. I do not doubt that you could graduate at 16!!! 4y
65 likes5 comments
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wanderinglynn
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Pickpick

I finished my last book & last puzzle of 2019!

This was an incredibly well-done biography. Although it started off a bit slow, it picked up and I enjoyed learning more about Justice Holmes. As a lawyer, I read & studied many of his opinions in law school, as he is considered one of the greatest Supreme Court Justices. The book was throughly researched and the narrator did a splendid job. 5⭐️

#tbrread #wintergames #TeamFestivus #audiopuzling

Texreader Great review 4y
Alora Love this one!! 😍 🐎 So does mom! She loves horses (edited) 4y
wanderinglynn @Alora It is called Winter Trio by Cobble Hill puzzles. 4y
Alora Ouhhh we love cobble hill! 😍 4y
54 likes4 comments
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wanderinglynn
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With the extra days, I actually hit 24 hours for once! 😂🙌🏻🥳

I‘m really enjoying the tagged. Only 5 hours left to go, so I have high hopes I‘ll finish it tomorrow. I‘m also trying to finish Leia—I really love it and don‘t want it to end.

#24B42020 #wintergames #TeamFestivus

Addison_Reads Great job! 🎉 4y
Texreader 🎉🎉🎉 4y
Lovesbooks87 Yay!!! 🎉🎉🎉 4y
TheAromaofBooks Woohoo! 4y
Andrew65 Congratulations 🥂🍾🥳😍🎯🤩👏👏👏🙌 4y
45 likes5 comments
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wanderinglynn
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It started out slow with a lot of background on his father & how Boston was in the early/mid-1800s (pre-Civil War). But it‘s picked up and gotten more interesting now. I finished the chapters on his life during the Civil War & now getting into his law career. Still 11 hours to go in this 16 hour audiobook.

I‘m also reading Leia Princess of Aldreraan and enjoying it immensely.

#24B42020 time so far: 17.5hrs

#wintergames #TeamFestivus

Andrew65 Going great 👏👏👏 4y
49 likes1 comment