Summer Reading List (2009)

Feeling a little anxious? Want to get a head start on the school year, but don’t know which books to pick up over the summer? New England Law | Boston wants you to be prepared, so we’ve put together a recommended summer reading list.

The books listed below provide a mix of information you might find useful. One book focuses on how to succeed in law school, while the others focus on specific legal cases. These books are available at many local and national bookstores, as well as at www.amazon.com and barnesandnoble.com.

Law School Preparation

The following books are intended to help prepare students for the law school experience. They discuss the study skills necessary for law school and contain practical advice for beginning law students.

Andrew J. McClurg, 1L of a Ride: A Well-Traveled Professor's Roadmap to Success in the First Year of Law School (Thomson West, 2009)
Herbert N. Ramy, Succeeding in Law School (Carolina Academic Press, 2006)
Ruth Ann McKinney, Reading Like a Lawyer: Time-Saving Strategies for Reading Law Like an Expert (Carolina Academic Press, 2005)

First-Semester Preview

This book provides a very brief introduction to the subjects studied in the first semester of law school.

Various Authors, Law In a Nutshell Series (West Publishing Paperback Series); includes individual titles in all first-year courses

Real-World Legal Cases

The following books are about actual legal cases, but they read like novels. They provide a good overview of the legal system and its operation. In addition, they may be required or recommended in some first-year courses.

Jonathan Harr, A Civil Action (Random House, 1995)
Richard Kluger, Simple Justice: The History of Brown v. Board of Education and Black America's Struggle for Equality (various publishers; originally published in 1976)
Anthony Lewis, Gideon’s Trumpet (Vintage Reissue Edition, 1989)
Gerald Stern, The Buffalo Creek Disaster (originally published 1976) (available in many editions from several publishers)