The Common Law is Oliver Wendell Holmes' most sustained work of jurisprudence. In it the careful reader will discern traces of his later thought as found in both his legal opinions and other writings. At the outset of The Common Law Holmes posits that he is concerned with establishing that the common law can meet the changing needs of society while preserving continuity with the past. A common law judge must be creative, both in determining the society's current needs, and in discerning how best to address these needs in a way that is continuous with past judicial decisions. In this way, the law evolves by moving out of its past, adapting to the needs of the present, and establishing a direction for the future. To Holmes' way of thinking, this approach is superior to imposing order in accordance with a philosophical position or theory because the law would thereby lose the flexibility it requires in responding to the needs and demands of disputing parties as well as society as a whole. According to Holmes, the social environment--the economic, moral, and political milieu--alters over time. Therefore, in order to remain responsive to this social environment, the law must change as well. But the law is also part of this environment and impacts it. There is, then, a continual reciprocity between the law and the social arrangements in which it is contextualized. And, as with the evolution of species, there is no starting over. Rather, in most cases, a judge takes existing legal concepts and principles, as these have been memorialized in legal precedent, and adapts them, often unconsciously, to fit the requirements of a particular case and present social conditions. Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. (1841-1935) served as chief justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Court and as an associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. He was nicknamed the "Great Dissenter" because of his many dissenting opinions. Holmes is also the author of Kent's Commentaries on the Law (1873) and "The Path of the Law" (1897). Tim Griffin has advanced degrees in philosophy and law, and has taught philosophy and legal theory courses at a number of universities. He is currently a seminarian pursuing ordination to the priesthood in the Episcopal Church.

A scathing attack on the idea of American Puritanism and the doctrine of Original Sin, Elsie Venner is the story of a young woman who, having been poisoned by rattlesnake venom while in the womb, emerges into the world half human, half snake. An intelligent and wealthy heiress, she repulses and fascinates those around her in equal measure. She falls in love with a young doctor, but her serpentine characteristics prevent him from returning her affection; her cousin is attracted by her money and, wrongly perceiving the doctor as his rival, determines upon his downfall. First published in 1861, this is a wonderfully inventive novel that meticulously dissects for the reader the social mores of small-town America in the middle of the nineteenth century, as viewed through the prism of Olive Wendell Holmes' powerful imagination.

A new take on Holmes' classic study of law and judicial development of rules. "The life of the law has not been logic: it has been experience." Annotated throughout with simple clarifications -- decoding and demystifying it for the first time - to make it accessible to a new generation of readers. Features a 2010 Foreword and extensive notes by Steven Alan Childress, J.D., Ph.D., a senior law professor at Tulane. Includes correct footnote numbers and original page numbers for citing. Contains rare photographs and insightful biographical section as well. As lamented by Holmes' premier biographer in 2006, The Common Law "is very likely the best-known book ever written about American law. But it is a difficult, sometimes obscure book, which today's lawyers and law students find largely inaccessible." No longer. With insertions and simple definitions of the original's language and concepts, this version makes it live for college students (able to "get it," at last, with legal terms explained), plus historians, law students, lawyers, and anyone wanting to understand his great book. No previous edition of this classic work has offered annotations or explanatory inserts. Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. compiled his master work in 1881 from lectures on the origins, reasoning, and import of the common law. It jump-started legal Realism and established law as a pragmatic way to solve problems and make policy, not just a bucket of rules. It has stood the test of time as one of the most important and influential studies of law. This book is interesting for a vast audience, including historians, students, and political scientists. It is also a recommended read before law school or in the 1L year. High quality hardcover edition from Quid Pro's Legal Legends Series. Holmes (1841-1935) was a legendary Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. Before that, he was an influential legal scholar who brought pragmatism to a new age of legal thought.

This fine collection is accompanied by an essay by Sir John Pollock that skillfully places the writers' ideas in the perspective of recent experience. A crucial document for lawyers, the letters are also delightful reading.