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The Essential Holmes: Selections from the Letters, Speeches, Judicial Opinions, and Other Writings of Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.
Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., has been called the greatest jurist and legal scholar in the history of the English-speaking world. In this collection of his speeches, opinions, and letters, Richard Posner reveals the fullness of Holmes' achievements as judge, historian, philosopher, and master of English style. Thematically arranged, the volume covers a rich variety of subjects from aging and death to themes in politics, personalities, and law. Posner's substantial introduction firmly places this wealth of material in its proper biographical and historical context.
"A first-rate prose stylist, [Holmes] was perhaps the most quotable of all judges, as this ably edited volume shows."— Washington Post Book World
"Brilliantly edited, lucidly organized, and equipped with a compelling introduction by Judge Posner, [this book] is one of the finest single-volume samplers of any author's work I have seen. . . . Posner has fully captured the acrid tang of him in this masterly anthology."—Terry Teachout, National Review
"Excellent. . . . A worthwhile contribution to current American political/legal discussions."— Library Journal
"The best source for the reader who wants a first serious acquaintance with Holmes."—Thomas C. Grey, New York Review of Books
"A first-rate prose stylist, [Holmes] was perhaps the most quotable of all judges, as this ably edited volume shows."— Washington Post Book World
"Brilliantly edited, lucidly organized, and equipped with a compelling introduction by Judge Posner, [this book] is one of the finest single-volume samplers of any author's work I have seen. . . . Posner has fully captured the acrid tang of him in this masterly anthology."—Terry Teachout, National Review
"Excellent. . . . A worthwhile contribution to current American political/legal discussions."— Library Journal
"The best source for the reader who wants a first serious acquaintance with Holmes."—Thomas C. Grey, New York Review of Books
374 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 1992
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About the author
Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr.
70 books73 followersAmerican jurist Oliver Wendell Holmes, Junior, son of Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr., served as an associate justice on the Supreme Court of the United States from 1902 to 1932; many of his opinions greatly influenced the American concept of law. Noted for his long service, his concise and pithy opinions, and his deference to the decisions of elected legislatures, he is one of the most widely cited Supreme Court justices in history, particularly for his "clear and present danger" majority opinion in the case of Schenck v. United States (1919), as well as one of the most influential American common-law judges.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
September 15, 2020
The book is organized intelligently. It is not in any chronological order. Instead, it goes along by topical sections, and the content grows progressively more difficult and complex, beginning largely with letters, and closing with a gloried barrage of Supreme Court opinions. It starts with Death and ends with Liberty.
Each section, internally, seems organized by loose association—sometimes a letter or essay or judicial opinion clearly relates to whatever was before, but sometimes it seems more a sudden leap.
This is probably as thorough a one stop sampling of Holmes as you could possibly get. Posner mentions in his Introduction that Holmes repeated himself a great deal, and he does...but so does every other philosopher or artist of any stature, and in this selection, Holmes's fixations recur like leitmotifs throughout the body of an opera.
Somewhere along the line I began to exclusively read this book aloud. I think that, at first, it was to better parse particularly convoluted sentences. Posner mentions "modernizing" the commas, which I think meant trimming their volume down from effusive Sternean clarity to something more like contemporary Bluebook legalese.
But regardless, the exercise of reading it aloud quickly became a habit. Forcing yourself to perfectly articulate a labyrinthine sentence with the correct rhythm, as if saying it off the cuff in table talk, helps to really fully understand it, and avoid skimming.
If you pick up this book, I recommend you do the same.
Each section, internally, seems organized by loose association—sometimes a letter or essay or judicial opinion clearly relates to whatever was before, but sometimes it seems more a sudden leap.
This is probably as thorough a one stop sampling of Holmes as you could possibly get. Posner mentions in his Introduction that Holmes repeated himself a great deal, and he does...but so does every other philosopher or artist of any stature, and in this selection, Holmes's fixations recur like leitmotifs throughout the body of an opera.
Somewhere along the line I began to exclusively read this book aloud. I think that, at first, it was to better parse particularly convoluted sentences. Posner mentions "modernizing" the commas, which I think meant trimming their volume down from effusive Sternean clarity to something more like contemporary Bluebook legalese.
But regardless, the exercise of reading it aloud quickly became a habit. Forcing yourself to perfectly articulate a labyrinthine sentence with the correct rhythm, as if saying it off the cuff in table talk, helps to really fully understand it, and avoid skimming.
If you pick up this book, I recommend you do the same.
October 19, 2019
During a search for a biography of Oliver Wendell Holmes (OWH), The Essential Holmes was discovered. The work by Richard A. Posner is a compendium of letters, several Supreme Court case reviews and lectures by OWH. After Posner’s well written introduction, I found myself in deep waters. OWH was an intellectual with the gift for a unique and prolific writing style. His prose includes reference to Greek philosophy and is peppered with foreign phrases. The letters and other documents are bifurcated and like an inside joke requires a background, particularly in law.
The opening chapter deals with Death and while I experienced all the problems noted above, I did understand the viewpoint. OWH states that death is not important to contemplate, it should be viewed as a Japanese painting that just leaves the page. OWH is an atheist or at best agnostic. Yet, he is also a humanitarian, at times a liberal and social animal. He had friendships that spanned a lifetime and his letters clearly expressed his love for the recipient. In his introduction, Posner gave us OWH, a well-educated man, steeped in tradition, educated in the best schools in the world and master of language.
It strikes this reviewer that one of his many attributes was his devotion to duty. He stated several times, “destiny is important, and it should be fulfilled as a part of the larger whole.” In other words, a man should do his best and contribute to the advancement of civilization’. This is a very noble viewpoint and OWH lived what he preached; his service to the law was prolific, he had to be nudged off the Supreme Court at age 90. During his time, he made many contributions to the practice of law. His dissent in Morrison versus Olsen delivered a groundbreaking explanation of the meaning of free speech, this dissent set the precedent in legal terms for free speech that exists today.
I found humor in some of this thoughts, e.g. “I see no reason to attach cosmic importance to man.” “man is but part of the whole”. “Truth is subjective and not absolute”. “I see no right in my neighbor to share my bread.” “I squarely fail to respect the passion for equality.” “Science has taught the world skepticism.” “Certainty is an allusion” All of these quotations give us the essential OWH. For all his expressed and demonstrated humanity, he saw man as no more than a swarm of flies. He saw value in eugenics, i.e. the science of improving a human population by controlled breeding to increase the occurrence of desirable heritable characteristics. A man with many sides and I attribute it to his New England Brahmin background and his lifelong study of law and philosophy. This man did his duty, he served during our Civil War (he did not have to go) and was wounded several times, and his vocation to and study of law is without precedent. I find him interesting and admirable; I would like to have met him, yet, feel that I probably could not have understand him because of the depth of his intellect! Posner did justice to him in his introduction, the rest of the book was harder to comprehend.
The opening chapter deals with Death and while I experienced all the problems noted above, I did understand the viewpoint. OWH states that death is not important to contemplate, it should be viewed as a Japanese painting that just leaves the page. OWH is an atheist or at best agnostic. Yet, he is also a humanitarian, at times a liberal and social animal. He had friendships that spanned a lifetime and his letters clearly expressed his love for the recipient. In his introduction, Posner gave us OWH, a well-educated man, steeped in tradition, educated in the best schools in the world and master of language.
It strikes this reviewer that one of his many attributes was his devotion to duty. He stated several times, “destiny is important, and it should be fulfilled as a part of the larger whole.” In other words, a man should do his best and contribute to the advancement of civilization’. This is a very noble viewpoint and OWH lived what he preached; his service to the law was prolific, he had to be nudged off the Supreme Court at age 90. During his time, he made many contributions to the practice of law. His dissent in Morrison versus Olsen delivered a groundbreaking explanation of the meaning of free speech, this dissent set the precedent in legal terms for free speech that exists today.
I found humor in some of this thoughts, e.g. “I see no reason to attach cosmic importance to man.” “man is but part of the whole”. “Truth is subjective and not absolute”. “I see no right in my neighbor to share my bread.” “I squarely fail to respect the passion for equality.” “Science has taught the world skepticism.” “Certainty is an allusion” All of these quotations give us the essential OWH. For all his expressed and demonstrated humanity, he saw man as no more than a swarm of flies. He saw value in eugenics, i.e. the science of improving a human population by controlled breeding to increase the occurrence of desirable heritable characteristics. A man with many sides and I attribute it to his New England Brahmin background and his lifelong study of law and philosophy. This man did his duty, he served during our Civil War (he did not have to go) and was wounded several times, and his vocation to and study of law is without precedent. I find him interesting and admirable; I would like to have met him, yet, feel that I probably could not have understand him because of the depth of his intellect! Posner did justice to him in his introduction, the rest of the book was harder to comprehend.
May 11, 2017
QUOTATION: I always say, as you know, that if my fellow citizens want to go to Hell I will help them. It’s my job.
ATTRIBUTION: Justice OLIVER WENDELL HOLMES, letter to Harold J. Laski, March 4, 1920.—Holmes-Laski Letters, ed. Mark DeWolfe Howe, vol. 1, p. 249 (1953).
Max Lerner, The Mind and Faith of Justice Holmes, p. 222 (1954), said, “Holmes was exacting in construing a statute and latitudinarian in construing powers under the Constitution. He often said that there was nothing in the Constitution that prevented the country from going to hell if it chose to. But once a statute was clearly constitutional and it became a matter of construing it, Holmes put on his most scrupulous spectacles.”
Only problem, we are all in the same boat.
ATTRIBUTION: Justice OLIVER WENDELL HOLMES, letter to Harold J. Laski, March 4, 1920.—Holmes-Laski Letters, ed. Mark DeWolfe Howe, vol. 1, p. 249 (1953).
Max Lerner, The Mind and Faith of Justice Holmes, p. 222 (1954), said, “Holmes was exacting in construing a statute and latitudinarian in construing powers under the Constitution. He often said that there was nothing in the Constitution that prevented the country from going to hell if it chose to. But once a statute was clearly constitutional and it became a matter of construing it, Holmes put on his most scrupulous spectacles.”
Only problem, we are all in the same boat.
July 1, 2018
I think I'll look into his father's work. From reading these letters you get idea he was grossly well read, I was more interested in what Holmes jr had to say in his own words but so much of material of the letters is devoted to allusions and effete Latin or French phrases. Makes you think some morsel of him not only wanted to be a poet, but was a poet at heart and had the potential to be a great one at that, but sadly mistrusted his own authority that he had to rely on the words of other writers and their works.
December 22, 2024
Required reading for any fan of the late and great (greatest Supreme Court Justice who ever lived) Oliver Wendell Holmes. It includes all his trademark aphorisms and witticisms in his opinions, letters, speeches, and essays. It is easily the Holmesian cannon for anyone who wants to familiarize themselves with the man’s philosophy.
May 19, 2007
Posner is, as would be expected, a blowhard in the foreword, contradicting himself and what not. But man can Holmes write! Particularly enjoyed the chapters on aging and death--pithy and reassuring, insofar as one can be the latter on those subjects (without promising pies in the sky).
December 23, 2014
Oliver Wendell Holmes wrote shocking, deep, and tough-minded things.
His philosophical nihilism is an anecdote to the saccharine pieties of these times.
His cosmopolitan and high English prose style adds flair to his essentially dour outlook.
His philosophical nihilism is an anecdote to the saccharine pieties of these times.
His cosmopolitan and high English prose style adds flair to his essentially dour outlook.
December 4, 2014
I've never felt familiar with an author, much less one who died almost a hundred years ago. Posner did a good job editing the letters by category.
September 21, 2020
Holmes Jr. is as great a thinker as anyone. He makes legal issues resonate. Greater writer. Also like the introduction to the book.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews