Justice Holmes is one of the most influential Supreme Court Justices in American history. Understanding him and his influence is key to understanding the history of law in America.

He is mostly idolized. He got some important things right (freedom of speech) but he also got some important things very wrong (eugenics, power and moral absolutes).

This books is best approached by serious students of the law or jurisprudence. While the author addresses his subject well he approaches it in a way that would probably best communicate to law students or lawyers. Since the information was originally used as lecture materials for college level classes this makes sense. There is still a niche out there for an easily read biography that makes some of these same points but with less focus on law and jurisprudence. ( )