This was an excellent account of a law students struggles even if it is difficult at times to relate to someone who attended HLS. I was disappointed in the end as it seemed to preach more than describe, but the author has reserved the right to do so. Still a necessary read for any future or current law student. I would recommend any young man or woman who so much as thinks they might attend law school read this book.

As a law student hopeful, I already feel indebted to Turow moments after finishing "One L". The book sheds light on what is an otherwise occult world, that of a Harvard law student. The book is an entertaining yet informative balance of autobiography, general information on law, and in the end, pedagogical analysis of law schooling. Written in 1977, the world Turow describes and the one we live in today differ almost in every facet. For example, Turow writes with incredulous fascination that big corporate law firms could bill their clients up to $200 per hour. I balked at the number, thinking it low, until I calculated for inflation and realized that the number would have been 898 in 2015 dollars. Artifacts of social changes such as this are prevalent throughout the book, but Turow argues that law education, predominantly, is immune to the same cultural shifts. Real estate law, he writes, requires an understanding of medieval legislature to be fully absorbed as a student. The methods of teaching the courses, the Socratic method, is a centuries old tradition. While the prudent applicant will seek further reading for more current accounts of law school, I doubt they will find one more honest, transparent and power as Turow's.

I found myself nodding in recognition at many passages in this memoir. I amp reading it in a break of my second year, at a lower tiered law school, and I found much still the same as described, especially the emotional reactions to bully professors and gunners (Kyle) in the story. But there are indeed some of the changes he suggests fully integrated in my law school, especially the practical. Also being a lower tiered school, most of the focus is on immediate practice skills. The assumption is you have to eat first right out of school and you don't have 4 years to be an anonymous associate at a huge firm,,for a high salary. Our grads hang their shingle immediately or work for the DA or Legal Aid or similar.

As a current 1L, this book has been a life saver for me. If for no other reason than that in the candid recounting of Turow's fears, disquietudes, frustrations, and uncertainties I found myself no longer feeling like the only one struggling, I highly recommend this work as a rescue ring on the tumultuous 1L sea.

Great read for all aspiring lawyers

I don't have this in my digital library but I did very much enjoy reading this book. :)