In recent years, cultural commentators have sounded the alarm about the dire state of reading in America. Americans are not reading enough, they say, or reading the right books, in the right way. In this book, Alan Jacobs argues that, contrary to the doomsayers, reading is alive and well in America. There are millions of devoted readers supporting hundreds of enormous bookstores and online booksellers. Oprah's Book Club is hugely influential, and a recent NEA survey reveals an actual uptick in the reading of literary fiction. Jacobs's interactions with his students and the readers of his own books, however, suggest that many readers lack confidence; they wonder whether they are reading well, with proper focus and attentiveness, with due discretion and discernment. Many have absorbed the puritanical message that reading is, first and foremost, good for you--the intellectual equivalent of eating your Brussels sprouts. For such people, indeed for all readers, Jacobs offers some simple, powerful, and much needed advice: read at whim, read what gives you delight, and do so without shame, whether it be Stephen King or the King James Version of the Bible. In contrast to the more methodical approach of Mortimer Adler's classic How to Read a Book (1940), Jacobs offers an insightful, accessible, and playfully irreverent guide for aspiring readers. Each chapter focuses on one aspect of approaching literary fiction, poetry, or nonfiction, and the book explores everything from the invention of silent reading, reading responsively, rereading, and reading on electronic devices. Invitingly written, with equal measures of wit and erudition, The Pleasures of Reading in an Age of Distraction will appeal to all readers, whether they be novices looking for direction or old hands seeking to recapture the pleasures of reading they first experienced as children.

Terry Flynt is a struggling legal clerk, desperately trying to get promoted. And then he is given the biggest opportunity of his career: to help defend a millionaire accused of murdering a woman in his hotel suite. The only problem is that the accused man, Vernon James, turns out to be not only someone he knows, but someone he loathes. This case could potentially make Terry's career, but how can he defend a former friend who betrayed him so badly?With the trial date looming, Terry delves deeper into Vernon's life and is forced to confront secrets from their shared past that could have devastating consequences for them both. For years he has wanted to witness Vernon's downfall, but with so much at stake, how can Terry be sure that he is guilty? And what choices must he make to ensure that justice is done?

This is the first book ever written for the defense on how to avoid runaway jury verdicts. I wrote this book because I care about fairness. I believe everyone has the right to a fair trial, not just plaintiff lawyers and their clients. Defendants are entitled to have a jury decide their case without being stirred with passion and bias by creative plaintiff lawyers. This is the defense "playbook" for justice. You will learn trial techniques to even the playing field for defendants seeking a fair trial. Every aspect of a civil jury trial will be covered, from voir dire to opening statements to witnesses and finally closing arguments. There is a formula for defeating plaintiff attorneys' deceptive tactics and psychological gamesmanship, and you will learn it. While full of 30 years of trial victories and personal experiences, this is a "how to" book. How to defend at trial. How to beat plaintiff attorneys at their own game. How to win. It is time to bring an end to the epidemic of nuclear verdicts across our country. It is time for you to take back justice for all! NUCLEAR VERDICTS MUST BE STOPPED! YOU CAN STOP THEM. RESPONSIBILITY. In every jury trial, accepting responsibility is not only the right thing to do, it is the most important thing you will do, no exceptions. Own what you did in every single jury trial, no excuses. REASONABLENESS. Be the most reasonable person in the courtroom. Do not take the typical defense approach of ­ fighting every little thing. Show the jury you care, and they will return a verdict that is fair and just for all. COMMON SENSE. The ultimate equalizer in any case is common sense. It allows the jury to come to a conclusion that is fair and reasonable. You must go beyond the evidence and the law, and help the jury apply their common sense for a righteous verdict.

INSPIRATION FOR THE ORIGINAL SERIES THE LINCOLN LAWYER – THE #1 TV SHOW ON NETFLIX Defense attorney Mickey Haller and Detective Harry Bosch must either work together or die as they investigate a Hollywood lawyer's murder in this "epic page-turner" (Library Journal). Things are finally looking up for defense attorney Mickey Haller. After two years of wrong turns, Haller is back in the courtroom. When Hollywood lawyer Jerry Vincent is murdered, Haller inherits his biggest case yet: the defense of Walter Elliott, a prominent studio executive accused of murdering his wife and her lover. But as Haller prepares for the case that could launch him into the big time, he learns that Vincent's killer may be coming for him next. Enter Harry Bosch. Determined to find Vincent's killer, he is not opposed to using Haller as bait. But as danger mounts and the stakes rise, these two loners realize their only choice is to work together.

The advent of Court TV and the increasing news coverage of high-profile trials have pushed legal proceedings to the forefront of public interest today. Jon L. Breen has answered a growing demand for information with a second edition of Novel Verdicts: A Guide to Courtroom Fiction, a critical bibliography of courtroom fiction. This new edition not only updates old annotations, but explores the literary response to new areas of focus and development that have emerged in the law since 1984. The original 421 entries have been retained among the 790 in the present volume, and Breen's guide also highlights a number of specialists who have recently emerged, including John Grisham, Steve Martini, William Bernhardt, Paul Levine, and Richard North Patterson. Annotations provide general information about the author and indicate the proportion of trial action included in each book. A critical bibliography for librarians, lawyers and courtroom enthusiasts alike, Novel Verdicts is a useful and easy-to-use reference tool that captures the changes in the law as depicted in courtroom fiction.

The arrest, trial and execution of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg in 1951 mesmerised an America coming to grips with the early Cold War and the anxiety aroused by the Soviet Union's testing of the atomic bomb. However, in 1965, Walter Schneir famously presented evidence that the Rosenbergs were innocent and had been framed by the FBI - a case which was brought into question in 1995 when the FBI released 3000 Soviet intelligence documents. This prompted Schneir to continue his research, which has lead to surprising and revelatory results.

2003 Christy Award winner! In Saudi Arabia, two American missionaries are targeted by the infamous religious police—Muttawa. The man is tortured and killed; his wife arrested on trumped-up charges before being deported to the United States. Compelled by the injustice of her plight, young attorney Brad Carlson files an unprecedented civil rights suit against Saudi Arabia and the ruthless head of the Muttawa. But the suit unleashes powerful forces that will stop at nothing to vindicate the Arabian kingdom. Witnesses are intimidated and some disappear; jurors are bribed; and a member of Brad’s own team may be attempting to sabotage the case. As Brad navigates a maze of treachery and deception, he must gamble his case, his career, and the lives of those he loves on his ability to bring justice to one family, challenge the religious intolerance of a nation, and alter the course of international law. Directed Verdict is a Christy Award–winning novel.

A reimagining of the "Twelve Dancing Princesses" traces the story of a family of flappers who work in a 1920s speakeasy until their suspicious father decides to marry them off, prompting a confrontation with a bootlegger from the eldest sister's past.

First published in 1962, this is the biography of American journalist, novelist and screenwriter Adela Rogers St. Johns’ father, Earl Rogers, a renowned Los Angeles criminal defense lawyer in the early 20th century. St. Johns draws on a succession of her father’s well-known court trials, including the trial that centered on perhaps the most famous lawyer-client disagreements recorded in legal history: those that developed between Clarence Darrow, indicted for attempted jury bribery in Los Angeles in 1912, and Earl Rogers himself. St. Johns’ fascinating book was adapted for a TNT television film of the same name in 1991, starring Treat Williams as Earl Rogers and Olivia Burnette as the young Adela Rogers St. Johns.

Fate throws a curveball at the San Francisco ex-husband-and-wife legal team of Mike Daley and Rosie Fernandez, when Mike picks up the phone and hears the voice of Leon Walker. This is not good news-because Walker was the one who ruined their marriage. Years ago, he and his brother participated in a stickup that left a man dead. Through a series of (some said) questionable maneuvers, Mike got the charges dropped, but he and Rosie fought about it all the time and it finally drove a wedge between them. Now, a Silicon Valley venture capitalist has been found dead in a dumpster on San Francisco's skid row. The new murder has been pinned on Walker, but he not only tells Mike he is innocent, he says he is a dying man and doesn't want to go to his grave proclaimed a murderer. Dogged investigation, courtroom nimbleness, and a healthy dose of luck usually have helped Mike before, but it looks like it'll take more than that to prevail this time, and his time is running out-both on his client and, just maybe, on his partnership. Filled with wonderful characters and suspense and more than a touch of humor, Reasonable Doubtis, like the author's first three books, a page-turner.