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Finding Jefferson: A Lost Letter, a Remarkable Discovery, and Freedom of Speech in an Age of Terrorism
The #1 New York Times bestselling author, Harvard Law School professor, and tireless defender of civil liberties unearths a little-known letter by his hero, Thomas Jefferson, and shares its secrets. The letter illuminates Jefferson’s views on freedom of speech in a way that has important implications for the country today, particularly in the struggle against terrorism. This book is about the remarkable letter Dershowitz found, how he found it, and why it matters not only to him, but to us today.
256 pages, Hardcover
First published November 1, 2007
4 people are currently reading
56 people want to read
About the author
Alan M. Dershowitz
148 books320 followersAlan Morton Dershowitz is an American lawyer, jurist, and political commentator. He is the Felix Frankfurter Professor of Law at Harvard Law School. He is known for his career as an attorney in several high-profile law cases and commentary on the Arab-Israeli conflict.
He has spent most of his career at Harvard, where, at the age of 28, he became the youngest full professor in its history, until Noam Elkies took the record. Dershowitz still holds the record as the youngest person to become a professor of law there.
As a criminal appellate lawyer, Dershowitz has won thirteen out of the fifteen murder and attempted murder cases he has handled. He successfully argued to overturn the conviction of Claus von Bülow for the attempted murder of Bülow's wife, Sunny. Dershowitz was the appellate advisor for the defense in the criminal trial of O.J. Simpson for the murder of his ex-wife Nicole Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman.
He has spent most of his career at Harvard, where, at the age of 28, he became the youngest full professor in its history, until Noam Elkies took the record. Dershowitz still holds the record as the youngest person to become a professor of law there.
As a criminal appellate lawyer, Dershowitz has won thirteen out of the fifteen murder and attempted murder cases he has handled. He successfully argued to overturn the conviction of Claus von Bülow for the attempted murder of Bülow's wife, Sunny. Dershowitz was the appellate advisor for the defense in the criminal trial of O.J. Simpson for the murder of his ex-wife Nicole Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
June 30, 2022
A very readable and interesting book that gives the reader insights into not only Mr. Dershowitz's passions as a collector but combines that with thought-provoking questions on Thomas Jefferson's ideas about the First Amendment with a focus on freedom of speech. How are the two related? The author purchases a little known letter written by Jefferson from one of his favorite bookstores. In this letter Jefferson challenges the views of a preacher on whether or not free speech should be punishable if it is considered an "overt act" and is "dangerous" speech. Previously the letter was held by a family for generations and not available for examination by historians. A lawyer and historian in his own right, the author gives his interpretation of how the letter sheds new light on Jefferson's views as a founding father and makes educated guesses as to how Jefferson would react to our more contemporary problems stemming from the threat of terrorism. If you are a student of our great experiment, the United States Constitution, you will delight in this deep dive into one of our most cherished rights.
April 7, 2019
Alan Can Be Inspiring
Although I have had my not so constructive criticisms of the Professor and even been on opposite sides in litigation some time ago, this is a book for patriots and lovers of American History. Good food for thought.
Although I have had my not so constructive criticisms of the Professor and even been on opposite sides in litigation some time ago, this is a book for patriots and lovers of American History. Good food for thought.
June 29, 2022
I love anything Alan Dershowitz writes. Great discussion of free speech, history of its evolution through the years, and how to balance the trade offs in todays world.
My only sadness is that he doesn’t narrate it himself.
Recommended.
My only sadness is that he doesn’t narrate it himself.
Recommended.
December 9, 2010
The author finds an undiscovered letter in a NY bookstore which suggests the current view of jefferson's belief on free speech ought to be modified. The letter suggests that Jefferson did not beleive that speech alone is grounds for an individual to be prosicuted. This view has particular relevance as in an age of terror individuals who advoce violence or who pursuade others to commit violent acts are thought to be guilty of inciting the other to commit the crime.
There has always been a tension between speech in a time of war or conflict. Lincoln closed newspapers during the civil war. The Palmer raids were as more about stifling disenting views as much as dealing with violent protests, McCarthyism was all about enforcing political conformity and stifling political disent.
In an era of Terror, where the US is fighting 2 wars, where the Patriot Act grants the government the right to bypass the 5th Amendment in the name of safey, Dershowitz finds in this new-found Jerfferson letter justification for this policy as well as a middle ground between abolute freedom of speech and society's right to limit speech when confronted by internal or external danger.
There has always been a tension between speech in a time of war or conflict. Lincoln closed newspapers during the civil war. The Palmer raids were as more about stifling disenting views as much as dealing with violent protests, McCarthyism was all about enforcing political conformity and stifling political disent.
In an era of Terror, where the US is fighting 2 wars, where the Patriot Act grants the government the right to bypass the 5th Amendment in the name of safey, Dershowitz finds in this new-found Jerfferson letter justification for this policy as well as a middle ground between abolute freedom of speech and society's right to limit speech when confronted by internal or external danger.
December 24, 2012
The premise of the book is interesting. The author, a law professor and avid collector, found a letter on some of Thomas Jefferson's views on freedom of speech. Despite the interesting premise, it book itself ends up being fairly unengaging, although it does make some interesting points.
The weakness of the book seems to be that it is trying to do too much in one book, and, as such, ends up diluting the strength of each part. The first part is almost of memoir of Dershowitz's letter collecting hobby. As someone who personally does not see the appeal of collecting, I found this rather dull. He then told the story of discovering the Jefferson letter. This was more interesting.
However, the letter itself is rather short. Only a couple of paragraphs long. The rest of the book is a response to the letter. Since the letter itself is so short, the rest of the book feels stretched. Dershowitz does a good job of pulling in other materials to give more context to the letter and support to his views of it, but still, it feels like he had a strong essay that he expanded into an okay book.
Overall, the book was not a bad read, but I cannot really recommend it either.
The weakness of the book seems to be that it is trying to do too much in one book, and, as such, ends up diluting the strength of each part. The first part is almost of memoir of Dershowitz's letter collecting hobby. As someone who personally does not see the appeal of collecting, I found this rather dull. He then told the story of discovering the Jefferson letter. This was more interesting.
However, the letter itself is rather short. Only a couple of paragraphs long. The rest of the book is a response to the letter. Since the letter itself is so short, the rest of the book feels stretched. Dershowitz does a good job of pulling in other materials to give more context to the letter and support to his views of it, but still, it feels like he had a strong essay that he expanded into an okay book.
Overall, the book was not a bad read, but I cannot really recommend it either.
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July 24, 2011This book is a lawyer's take on the First Amendment in an era of terrorism. He writes it on the occasion of purchasing a previously unpublished letter of Jefferson's addressing this issue. The chatty and personal nature of the first chapter (including an extended history of his hobby as a collector) detracts from the book, and can be safely skipped as irrelevant. Otherwise, it is an interesting retrospective: does the First Amendment need amending? can it be adapted to deal with the issues related to speech that advocates violence? It's an excellent introduction to the legal, moral and historical issues surrounding the First Amendment. The reader will learn that it does not give Americans the right to absolute free speech, but rather limits the Federal government from abridging that right. Jefferson believed that states could indeed abridge speech and was the proper venue for such law. A relatively quick read.
July 18, 2010
Horrid! The author was a big fat blowhard who spent 90% of the book talking about himself. He was so concieted he felt that some otherworldly force had led Jefferson to write the lost letter to him personally. Must be nice to feel so damned imortant. And the letter, it was really more of a note, a memo maybe, and not all that particularly interesting. I am always stunned when authors take fascinating figures from history and write drivel that doesn't even begin to explore the person they are supposed to be writing about. No wonder Americans know nothing of history, you really have to try to find some that is well written.
December 12, 2008
The letter he found was interesting but the book seems cobbled together from bits & pieces of other writings. The author finds himself very interesting & seems to think that we will too, alas in my case this was not so.
I would have enjoyed hearing about the letter he bought & how the author thought it pertained to the first amendment today, without spending the whole first half of the book hearing about how he likes to collect things & what his family thinks about it.
I would have enjoyed hearing about the letter he bought & how the author thought it pertained to the first amendment today, without spending the whole first half of the book hearing about how he likes to collect things & what his family thinks about it.
July 3, 2012
A hard slog to read but some fascinating facts and theories. His thesis is that TJ more thoroughly supported freedom of speech than previously believed based on a letter the author purchased. TJ says only punish acts and speech is NOT an act....Dershowitz argues that speech is sometimes an act.
January 8, 2008
really very interesting subject matter, the book is quite relevant in modern politics and I found it to be quite thought-provoking.
April 6, 2008
Good refresher on the constitution, what it means to be a free country, and how easy it is to lose it.
June 30, 2008
It's a cool story, and I especially enjoyed the vicarious thrill of purchasing valuable books and papers from a respectable bookseller. The story does have a few draggy spots, a few dull byways.
April 15, 2010
Was a slow read, I'm not a big fan of Dershwitz and it seemed to be more about him than Mr. Jefferson.
December 6, 2014
A great read about our first amendment rights. It made me think about the complexities behind our basic rights.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews