I Rest My Case

by Peter Golden, J. Stanley Shaw

I Rest My Case is a fascinating and profoundly moving memoir that chronicles the life of J. Stanley Shaw from his childhood years under the supervision of the Brooklyn Hebrew Orphan Asylum in the 1930s to his career as one of the preeminent bankruptcy attorneys in the United States. Shaw's colorful and often poignant reminiscences take us from Depression-era Brooklyn, through his years at Columbia University and New York Law School, his early setbacks at the hands of an unscrupulous real estate developer who left him one million dollars in debt, the political education he received as a leader of the New York Liberal Party during the 1960s and 1970s, and his groundbreaking legal work in corporate bankruptcy. The pages of I Rest My Case are filled with fascinating characters-some famous and some obscure, but always memorable. Shaw was a candidate for mayor of New York, and his political career brought him into contact with a diverse range of luminaries from Nelson Rockefeller to Al D'Amato, and from George McGovern to George Pataki. Shaw has turned a wry and thoughtful eye on his life, filling the pages of his memoir with trenchant observations about the human condition. A brisk narrative set against a rich backdrop of American cultural and legal history, I Rest My Case is a testament to the strength of the human spirit and the redemptive power of love. All proceeds from the sale of the book will be donated to the Association for Adults and Children With Learning Disabilities (ACLD), a not-for-profit organization that assists more than 2,500 infants, children and their families.

342 pages, Hardcover

First published January 18, 2000

About the author

Peter Golden is an award-winning journalist, historian, and novelist who has written nine books and interviewed Presidents Nixon, Ford, Reagan, and Bush (41); Secretaries of State Kissinger, Haig, Shultz, and Eagleburger; Israeli Prime Ministers Rabin, Peres, and Shamir; and Soviet President Gorbachev. His first novel, Comeback Love, was praised by the novelist and reviewer Caroline Leavitt as an “extraordinary debut.” Wherever There Is Light, his second novel, was featured in New York Magazine’s Fall Preview issue, widely reviewed, and selected by the New Jersey Star-Ledger as one of the best books of 2016. His third novel, Nothing Is Forgotten, which explores the connection between the Holocaust and the Cold War, was published on April 10, 2018. New York Times bestselling author Lisa Wingate praised the novel as "the sort of book you won’t soon forget…Cold War Europe, lingering Nazi secrets, and the tragic history faced by millions of families not only bring this tale to life but will keep you turning the pages.”