Louis D. Brandeis: A Life

by Melvin I. Urofsky

As a young lawyer in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Louis Brandeis, born into a family of reformers who came to the United States to escape European anti-Semitism, established the way modern law is practiced. He was an early champion of the right to privacy and pioneer the idea of pro bono work by attorneys. Brandeis invented savings bank life insurance in Massachusetts and was a driving force in the development of the Clayton Antitrust Act, the Federal Reserve Act, and the law establishing the Federal Trade Commission.
 
Brandeis witnessed and suffered from the anti-Semitism rampant in the United States in the early twentieth century, and with the outbreak of World War I, became at age fifty-eight the head of the American Zionist movement. During the brutal six-month congressional confirmation battle that ensued when Woodrow Wilson nominated him to the Supreme Court in 1916, Brandeis was described as “a disturbing element in any gentlemen’s club.” But once on the Court, he became one of its most influential members, developing the modern jurisprudence of free speech and the doctrine of a constitutionally protected right to privacy and suggesting what became known as the doctrine of incorporation, by which the Bill of Rights came to apply to the states. In this award-winning biography, Melvin Urofsky gives us a panoramic view of Brandeis’s unprecedented impact on American society and law.

Genres: Biography, History, Law, Nonfiction, American History, Legal, Politics

976 pages, Paperback

First published January 28, 1981

About the author

Melvin I. Urofsky is professor of law and public policy and a professor emeritus of history at Virginia Commonwealth University. He received his B.A. from Columbia University in 1961 and doctorate in 1968. He also received his JD from the University of Virginia. He teaches at American University and George Washington University Law School.

Reviews

[Frank Stein · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is an extensive, probably too extensive, look at an undeniably fascinating man.

In the early 20th century Brandeis became known as the "People's Attorney" for taking on cases for labor unions, utility consumers and others. But as he himself said, he preferred not to be tied down to particular clients, and he aimed to be the "counsel to the situation." This meant he was often the mediator or the negotiator in a host of what he called his "pet reforms". Early in his life he took on the West End Street Railway into Boston and pushed through a tunnel-building scheme that allowed the city to build and own a new tunnel and to use it to regulate the railway's rates. He also created the first "sliding scale" for gas and electric rate regulation in America. He provided the famous fact-laden "Brandeis brief" to the Supreme Court in Muller v. Oregon (1908) that caused the Court to uphold women's working hours legislation and established a new kind of "sociological jurisprudence." His argument before the Interstate Commerce Commission that accused the railroads of inflating their value and being insufficiently attentive to new "scientific management" practices held down railroad rates for a generation. He created savings bank insurance in Massachusetts that allowed people to buy life insurance (essential in those days before social security) from local mutual banks. He was the mediator that helped end the famous shirtwaist strike of 1909. He was the attorney for the committee that investigated the famous Pinchot-Ballinger affair in 1910 that helped bring down the Taft Presidency. His articles on the "Money Trust" (in his immortal words titled "Other People's Money") helped ensure passage of the Federal Reserve Act in 1913. He was an important adviser to both Woodrow Wilson and FDR, and influenced such legislation as the Federal Trade Commission Act and the national unemployment insurance system. He was also one of the century's most influential Supreme Court justices, creating such staples of judicial argument as the "right to privacy," the "race to the bottom," and "laboratories of democracy." Finally, he was the head of the Zionist Organization of America and basically helped found the state of Israel.

So a busy life, and worthy of an extensive look, but this book ignores few moments in it. What's worse, perhaps, is that the author spends an inordinate amount of time justifying every action Brandeis took against his detractors, and there is plenty here too that should make one think twice about his legacy, despite his accomplishments. He was dismissive of the people in general, believing them fools that were "easily lead"; his Brandeis brief relied on assumptions about the inferiority of women and their duty to bear children; his plans for returning the economy to a state of small, independent producers were simply impractical; his rate regulation of gas and railroads was strict enough to put many of these into bankruptcy; his desire to be independent of his clients sometimes led him to play both sides of the courtroom.

I would think some of these debates could be viewed more evenly now with the passage of time, but the author seems eager to relitigate every aspersion cast on the man.

There's much to learn in this book, but I wish I could have gotten it without the celebratory tone.

[Rick Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great and thorough biography of a very interesting person.

At times, a bit dry and technical. Maybe a pass unless you want to learn about specific court cases, aspects of Bostons political and social scene, and Brandeis specific briefs and letters. It did feel at times the book got bogged down in attempting to tell everything and all events of Brandeis life. Even though he is an interesting guy he is not that interesting.

Worth the squeeze? Maybe. Buried within the pages are great descriptions of his work ethic and approach to law that I thought were fascinating and illuminating. It parallels a similar thread that I really respected from Ruth Bader Ginsberg’s biographies in that the effective route to lasting structural change is through incremental improvements over a long period of time.

Do I wish I picked a shorter biography of Brandeis as an introduction? Probably, mostly, yes. Am I glad that I worked (suffered at times) my way through this? Totally.

[Jean · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of my goals for 2014 is to read about the Supreme Court justices so here is my first one this year. The life of Louis B. Brandeis, as explored in Professor Urofsky’s remarkable book, had innumerable passages that amazed me. Urofsky’s prose along with the meticulous detail he put into the book help capture the sweep and the details of the life of Brandeis. More than half the book is about Brandeis’s pre-court years. Brandeis was fifty-nine years old when he was appointed to the court. Urofsky’s writes in a scholarly fashion packed with lots of detail about various legal cases. Brandeis is considered one of the most brilliant minds of all the Supreme Court Justices. He was a crusader against oversized institutions and eloquent proponent of free speech and privacy. When he was an attorney he was known as “The People’s Attorney” for taking cases for labor unions, utility consumers and women’s rights. The one item I felt that was over done by Urofsky was about Zionism. The detail on this could have been significantly reduces and resulted in a better book. Urofsky shows how Brandeis was a man of facts, ethics, principle and courage. I learned so much about the man and his times as well as the workings of the Supreme Court. I also felt that Urofsky could have balanced the book a bit more pointing out more of Brandeis’s weakness. Overall it is an excellent book I would recommend to anyone interested in the Justices of the Supreme Court or history. Sean Pratt did an excellent job reading this long (36 hours) book.

[Carole · Rating 4 out of 5]

At times Brandeis was riveting, yet there were segments that caused my eyes to glaze over, whole portions that I found myself skimming. Actually, “skimming” is a euphemism. I literally skipped a chapter or two. However, in a book of almost 1000 pages, that’s not so terrible. Where the biography focused (exhaustively and brilliantly) on Brandeis the intellectual giant, Brandeis the son, brother, friend, husband, father, grandfather, student/former student, mentor, co-jurist, espouser of causes, reformer, zionist, philanthropist, it was captivating. Yet it was mired in such minutiae re specific cases and interests....savings bank insurance, railroad mergers, etc. Overall, I’m glad I persevered and didn’t quit when tempted. This is not your run-of-the-mill biography.

[UChicagoLaw]

I just read and highly recommend Melvin Urofsky’s Louis Brandeis: A Life. This comprehensive and highly readable biography covers everything from Brandeis’s youth in Louisville to his remarkable career as “The People’s Lawyer,” from his lifelong devotion to the Zionist cause to the bitter controversy over his confirmation as the first Jew ever appointed to the United States Supreme Court, from the many fierce battles he fought within the Court during his more than two decades of service to his countless extrajudicial activities. What struck me most in reading this work is how much we today need – and sorely lack – a Supreme Court Justice like Louis Brandeis. - Geoffrey Stone

[Linda]

This is a really long book - over 700 pages - but, to me, it's worth reading. First of all, I like learning about the lives of famous people, especially ones whose names and careers I've heard about but know nothing about. Louis Brandeis became one of the most notable Supreme Court justices and it's very interesting to learn about the cases that got him there. It also shows that although life goes on, nothing changes. Lots of the challenges he faced (like the separation of banking from its investment offerings) are the same as today. Sigh.

[Andy Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

After reading this I wish we had a Louis Brandeis on the Supreme Court now. This new biography traces his life and reminds us that Brandeis was an extremely successful attorney who made a great deal of money representing business and commercial interests before focusing on the cases that led him to be known as the People's Attorney, including the introduction of the "Brandeis briefs."

The book reminds us that Brandeis was always committed to capitalism, he just felt that the law needed to adapt to the changes in society so that our country could keep its basic Jeffersonian values. Brandeis understood the growing concentration of corporate power undermined the balance of the marketplace and that the best answer was to have laws restore that balance so that the marketplace ideals could still work--and continue fairness to the worker and to the consumer

He rejected the idea that corporations and governments should both become bigger and more powerful which would allegedly create more effeciency due to the "smartness" of business and government leaders.

That is why Brandeis rejected Theodore Roosevelt's "New Nationalism" and chose(and helped create) Woodrow Wilson's "New Freedom" and also why he aligned himself with the conservative wing of the US Supreme Court on many cases against FDR's "first" new deal that focused on the federal government "managing" large corporations and the economy which helped lead to FDR's "Second " New Deal

Consistent with this was Brandeis's involvement in crafting the Glass-Seagull Act which separated the investment and banking functions. That act was recently repealed and many think the repeal helped create the current banking/wall street crisis.

That is what makes Brandeis so relevant now. Part of the problem is that Clinton adopted and Obama apparently adopting much of the "New Nationalism" approach so there hasn't been a balance in this debate(Of course, the GOP and Bush have adopted the corporate/government power approach even more stridently) There are some political figures such as Senator Maria Cantwell who seem to be in the Brandeis tradition but I wish we had more balance on the issue and more people like Brandeis in the judiciary and executive branches

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

An extremely deep dive into the life and career or Louis Brandeis. I am not a lawyer or legal scholar (which made reading the details of some court cases a bit of a snooze), but still found the biography a compelling account of one of the most important and influential progressives in United States history. Certainly, the shear size and level of detail of this biography makes it a challenging read, but well worth the effort. This was a refreshing reminder (especially in this current political era...) that it is possible for members of the government to strive for a high moral backbone, value facts/data, and rise above partisan politics. You see in Brandeis the forebear of modern progressives such as Elizabeth Warren (his ideas for ending the Great Depression are practically an early draft of Warren’s modern proposals). A devotion to public service. Limiting big businesses and government (not socialism, but an opposition to consolidated, corrupting power). It’s a stark reminder that our country once had leaders who truly valued its citizens and hopefully will again.

[keatssycamore · Rating 2 out of 5]

Pretty sure there wasn't anything wrong with the audio production. I think my problem was this guy wrote 800 pages and maybe 25 of them are sufficiently critical of Brandeis. The author just God's him up too much for the book to be this long. Give me 400 pages of love instead.

And, I have to admit, it has the problem American mainstream bios of 'progressives' always have in that it erases (by acting like those further left were crazy/ineffectual) what was going on at the moment progressive politics was borne and that annoys me. I mean there was so much left agitation during Brandeis' rise and that's barely referenced (and when it is, it's dismissed as unrealistic with LB always being the voice of "reasonable progressivism") and it is certainly never considered that LB just co-opted that wave to help achieve his own personal ambitions.

[Jan · Rating 4 out of 5]

My book-year 2021 started with a comprehensive judicial biography. The book by Melvin I. Urofsky about Louis D. Brandeis’ life might be staggering for some by its sheer size (957 pp), for others because of its content.

A biography on a jurist? Readers outside the judicial field might find such a book daunting. But rest assured, this biography is absolutely worth reading!

Most people might know Brandeis as Supreme Court justice. However, this absolutely falls short of one of the most bustling jurists in the history of the United States. Urofsky’s full-scale biography shows, that there is so much more to learn and to know about Brandeis, his family, his work but also his extrajudicial activities. As a lawyer, he not only influenced the law on trusts, railroads etc. He, among others, initiated a new understanding of the role as lawyer in the legal system. The influence he had on the jurisprudence of the Supreme Court, as well as on his law clerks is very insightful, not only to understand, what drove Brandeis, but also how he influenced the development of law and society. His work for the Zionist cause is another big part of his personality. Urofsky sheds good light on Brandeis’ understanding of Zionism, a Jewish state and his accomplishments, as well as his shortcomings in this field.

The only things that derives this book to get a 5-star-rating is the fact, that Urofsky, in describing Brandeis’ legal views in connection with special cases, might lose those readers not familiar with the legal profession.

[E. Nicholas Mariani · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful biography chronicling the life and times of Louis Brandeis, the first Jewish man to sit on the United States Supreme Court and one of the most profound, prolific, and influential minds in American legal history. I see some negative reviewers mentioning the book's length and, yes, at 700+ pages, it's certainly an undertaking; but no more so than recent biographies of, say, Ulysses S. Grant or Alexander Hamilton. And Louis Brandeis, in his own way, is every bit as worthy of such treatment as those two men. His tireless advocacy as a lawyer, his monumental opinions on the high court, and his extraordinary intellect and high moral character all serve as an important reminder -- in this age as much as any -- that it is possible to be a great person while being a *good* one, as well.

[Mike · Rating 3 out of 5]

The high lights of the character of Louis D. Brandeis that I will retain for years to come are: 1) His excellent character; 2) His concern for the well-being of his fellow man; 3) His impeccable intellectual prowess; 4) His ability to fight ferociously, but fairly, for a cause he believed in; 5) His relationship with the president of the United States, President Woodrow Wilson; 6) His love for both the USA and for Zion (Israel); 7) The years he spent as "Justice Louis D. Brandeis"

He is truly an American hero, a man to emulate.

I'm glad I read this book! There is, obviously, so much more to know about this great man than can be contained in the pages of this small book. It's a great introduction to a great American!

[Dave · Rating 2 out of 5]

Such a badly written biography for such a fascinating subject. Whole chunks of the book are worth skipping; there is no storytelling or color or pace to keep the book going. Parts read like hagiography. The author barely strings it along between citing long pieces of Brandeis’ correspondence. The chapters about the Boston subway debates of the early 1900s are so boring they should have been excised. The book runs too long because the author and the editors refused to make decisions about what was worth reporting about Brandeis and what is useless filler. Instead they chuck in the whole kitchen sink. Imagine a Walter Isaacsson biography of Brandeis. That is what I’m looking for but appears no accomplished biographers have wanted to explore Brandeis life.

[Catherine Woodman]

Thank god I had a long travel day with which to read this (although almost immediately I thought I might have done better to buy it on the kindle. It is a 1000 pages, 750 of the actual book, and quite weighty). Interesting book on Brandeis,I learned alot about him, and within the context of his life (which I wasn't that clear on when it was exactly and what his background was). There were alot of holes in the story--he was not a guy who left alot of material behind, so in some ways left more questions than it answered, but I know much much more about him. Well written, though not brilliantly written--it is a bit pedantic. Recommended none the less.

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 stars may sound harsh, but I’d give this 3.5 stars if I could. Brandeis was a great Supreme Court Justice and one of the most influential ones of all, and this book is a very thorough account of his life before, during, and after his time on the bench. But that’s also kind of a problem for this book, as it gets to be somewhat dense or dry at some points. But the writing is good otherwise, and Brandeis is a great subject to write on.

[Tim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Long book...but worth every minute of reading...Urofsky is a historian that can also write in a manner that reads well. Brandeis was a very interesting person...the only trouble with reading a book like this is that it makes your own life seem so insignificant. Brandeis did more in his life than most people can do in three lives. Truly remarkable...now on to the next Urofsky book.

[Mary Whisner · Rating 5 out of 5]

A hefty book about an amazing man. Brandeis was involved in so many activities!
I was especially interested in some of the early material about his law practice.
Oh, there's so much to say.

[Ryan Johnson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Louis D. Brandeis

Book ten of 2023. This is an exhaustive (exhausting!) biography of a truly great man. “A great person achieves that stature in part because of the times in which he or she lives.” (p. 754).

From being a leader of the progressive movement over several decades, forming views on labor and economics, to shaping American Zionism (would Israel exist without Brandeis? Hard to say, but there’s a callousness to his treatment of Palestinians that deserves consideration, too), to creating the legal concept of privacy in America, few people have accomplished as much over so many areas of work. He’s a hard person to get to know, and this book doesn’t really crack the essence of the man; it tells us what others thought about him and what he did, but he was apparently deeply personal and didn’t commit his truest thoughts to paper at any time. Despite this, he does come through as a thoughtful and caring friend who cultivated a small number of truly meaningful friendships. And Friendship for Brandeis certainly meant collaboration - no idle chit chat for this man!

The author sets out to prove that Brandeis was an “idealistic pragmatist” and largely succeeds in this aim.

There’s a strain of Neo-Brandeis-ian competition theorists today, particularly in the US. They seem to absolutize Brandeis’ views that “bigness” is a bad thing always; but a more careful review of his judicial record shows that he was concerned with confronting bigness only where it mattered - transport, logistics, utilities, and other necessities. Certainly he favored a Jeffersonian-Pastoralist vision of America, but recognized the times he lived in were of rapid urbanization and consolidation; he certainly didn’t thrash at all “bigness” but was more selective.

The book does go out on a limb in a few places to make it seem like he was “in the room where it happened” for some actions that are only tangentially associated with Brandeis. In that sense, the book makes him out to be a bit of a Forrest Gump. But in reality, his list of acknowledged accomplishments is so great that this is necessary and one can certainly move forward.

[Daniel Elliott · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was kind of boring!

Interesting things:

His parents were secular Jewish 48ers who left Europe for liberal America. They ended up first in Madison Indiana, which was at the time a decently prosperous River town. You can still see the traces of it!

The family ended up in Louisville for Louis’s birth though. He remembered the civil war as a little kid and studied in Germany as a teen. He was a star student at Harvard and then a star lawyer. Law school and the modern system of judicial clerkships was solidified in his life. Interesting to see those as second industrial Revolution developments that have stuck.

He was a progressive reformer, but not a utopian. He had his poorly developed ideas of the evils of bigness in government and industry. Some people today look back at those as cutting edge and impressive, but given that this was a world where Max Weber and Alfred Marshall were in the air, these ideas are solidly unimpressive.

He was a non-religious Zionist and a key figure in Zionism in America. It’s interesting to hear that early history of the movement, but he’s not exactly the most interesting way into it.

[David Hill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brandeis was, IMO, one of the best Supreme Court Justices we've had. He was a the key player in transforming our nation's justice system. Prior to his tenure, our legal system used the Constitution as a cudgel to "protect" property rights. That is, the Supreme Court interpreted the Constitution such that property rights were all that mattered. All that palaver about freedoms and rights was just nice words when someone's earnings came into conflict with someone else's rights as a human - property rights (almost) always won the day.

Urofsky gives us Brandeis' story in detail and in the context of the times he lived and worked. It is clearly written and engaging. Each chapter has a nice paragraph (or three) at the end that succinctly summarizes the material. Compared to other biographies I've read of SCOTUS justices, it goes into a little less detail on the court cases, but that's okay - this is a biography, not a law school textbook.

Recommended.

[Gerry Connolly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Melvin Urofsky has written a masterpiece biography of Justice Louis Brandeis. Reformer, skilled attorney, progressive champion and committed Zionist Brandeis broke barriers and chartered new legal territory as a lawyer and for 23 years as a Supreme Court Justice. On the court he teamed up with Holmes in many dissents on free speech and the role of modern governance. His dissents later became controlling opinions. He pioneered sociological jurisprudence by insisting on facts and context. No static rigid originalism for Brandeis. He faltered in FDR’s time striking down New Deal legislation as overreach and insulated himself from the ravages of the Great Depression FDR sought to reverse. A consequential figure in American life and law.

[Lynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I recently encountered Brandeis' thought in the book "The Curse of Bigness" and thought I should learn more about him, so I checked out this biography. I am not sure I would have gone for it if i had known it was 756 pages long, but it is a very interesting and well written account not only of his life but of the period from the past Civil War to the edge of WWII. Along the way you learn much about the early 20th century reform movements, law, the work of the courts and the rise of Zionism among other things, while meeting a very wise and good man. One of the shocks to me was to learn that when my grandfather was born in 1903 there were no child labor laws, and as late as1936courts were turning down minimum wage laws for even women and children. We have come a long way.

[Sam · Rating 4 out of 5]

I came to this from Tim Wu's Curse of Bigness, and, 750 pages later, I'm convinced Brandeis was the greatest Supreme Court justice ever. He's wasn't quite the idealist that I expected. Urofsky paints him as a pragmatist and explains some of his more progressive stances as coming from his desire to defer to legislative fact-finding. If you're interested in his thoughts on competition and antitrust, the most relevant chapters are 12 and 13 (Railroad Interludes, and The Curse of Bigness), 16 (The New Freedom), and 24 (the Taft Court and Legal Classicism).

[Chad Montabon · Rating 3 out of 5]

I should have found something a little less 'all encompassing' for a first journey into the life of Brandeis, and this was very flattering to him. I know that there were failures and accusations that were made and they were passed over lightly, but if this biography is accurate, he was something of a philosopher saint.

[Holli · Rating 3 out of 5]

Studying freedom in America, I came across some of his work and wanted to learn more about him. If I were a lawyer, this might have been more interesting for me. If it were about half as long, it would have been great. I learned a lot about the history of law in this country and different views on the Constitution and its application. It was just too long-winded for my interests.

[Dan Billings · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read multiple biographies of Supreme Court justices and this felt like an all encompassing look at a great man. Though it did have a decent amount of repetition, it painted a picture of the early twentieth century and it all echoes with the struggles we have a country today.

[Robert Clamme · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating read. Anyone interested in history and especially the courts will love this book. I knew very little about Brandeis before this book and reading of his life was a great joy. I think I really took something away from this book that most times does not happen. It absorbed me. Long book.

[Clayton Brannon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exceptionally well written readable biography of one the the greatest Justice's of The U.S. Supreme Court. A man with high moral standards who served his country as a great lawyer, reformer and judge. Many of our leaders today could take lessons from how he lived his life. Great book.

[Kim Zinkowski · Rating 4 out of 5]

B+.

[Grace · Rating 3 out of 5]

The biography bits - his adoption of Zionism, his progressive decision making were interesting. The ins and outs of SCOTUS cases was pedantic and read like a textbook.