Taking the Stand

My Life in the Law

By: Alan Dershowitz

Narrated by: Ella Dershowitz, Alan Dershowitz

#1 New York Times bestselling author Alan Dershowitz recounts his extraordinary coming of age in this legal autobiography, as well as the cases that have changed American jurisprudence over the past fifty years, most of which he has personally been involved in.

“Overflowing with fascinating and funny vignettes involving his cases and clients, and probing and provocative insights into contemporary legal controversies.”—The Boston Globe

Alan Dershowitz, the preeminent defense lawyer in America today, has been called the “winningest appellate criminal defense lawyer in history.” A professor at Harvard Law School since the age of twenty-five, he has led or been part of the defense team for such storied clients as Bill Clinton, Julian Assange, O. J. Simpson, Claus von Bülow, Mia Farrow, Jeffrey MacDonald, Patty Hearst, Mike Tyson, and countless others.

In Taking the Stand, Dershowitz describes his evolution as a lawyer—from a C-minus student in Yeshiva High School to the youngest full professor in the history of Harvard Law School. In his #1 New York Times bestselling book Chutzpah, Alan described his Jewish life. In Taking the Stand, he looks at the people and events that have helped to shape his ideas about the law. He describes his formative years as a clerk for the United States Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court. In the course of his career, he confronts the challenges of First Amendment law, the ongoing tension between individual freedom and national security, the questionable science often employed to prosecute accused murderers, the evolution of civil rights—and why the abortion rights debate in society hasn’t moved forward since Roe v. Wade.

Filled with unforgettable cases and inside legal “baseball,” Taking the Stand is a deeply personal account of one of the legendary legal minds of our time.

Fabulous writing

Where does Taking the Stand rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

This is one of the best autobiographies I have read.

What did you like best about this story?

I felt I was 'there' throughout...totally engaged. The vignettes throughout were delightful and interesting.

Did Ella Dershowitz and Alan Dershowitz do a good job differentiating all the characters? How?

It was quite disconcerting to have a female narrator for a male's story. And she has that somewhat typical vocal pattern so common to young females these days. Her expresssion and pronounciations were good. But having heard the author read his own intro...I would have much preferred he read the entire book..or at least have a male narrator. Knowing Ella was his daughter, I had to keep reminding myself she was reading it as Alan and not as herself.

Any additional comments?

Sure wish narrator was male. Quite disappointed.

could have been but...

This book was not worth reading. The subject is fascinating. I have great respect for the author.
The active choice he made to use his daughter to tell his story was a big mistake to me.
I could not even finish it. The only reason why I scored the story and the overall book 3 stars is my awe for his legal talent.
Not worth a credit.

great book but a kind of confusing narration

though narration was excellent, it's read by authors daughter which is actresses, it's kind of confusing that narrator is opposite sex as author which tells story of his life

The narrator does an injustice to this book.

This story was compelling. That is the only reason that I finished the book. Several times, I found myself annoyed wanting to put the book down and then I would remind myself that it wasn’t the story but rather the voice that bothered me. I appreciate Ella’s enthusiasm however she needs to save it for her own book. First off, it was very distracting to have a female voice for a male biography. Secondly she had such strong, enthusiastic voice that was clearly not yet he author’s as heard when he himself came on at the end of the book.I’m sorry, I really couldn’t get past that. I wish I had read the actual book first.

Maestro Dershowitz offers us more testimony!

Another marvelous look at society, government, family and the law. Unabashed discourse from his perspective.