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Doing Justice: A Prosecutor's Thoughts on Crime, Punishment, and the Rule of Law by Preet Bharara
jal755's review against another edition
5.0
Loved the book, and the only significant issue I had involved his comments on the 2009 financial crisis. I find it hard to believe that the US was unable to prosecute anyone, while Iceland, a nation with more rights and freedoms and less government surveillance and intrusion, successfully prosecuted its citizens involved in the same thing.
jnmauch1's review against another edition
4.0
His story and perspective is a unique lens into our justice system. The passion he put into his work was so clear and inspiring. My only complaint is I wish he would have discussed more about the shortcomings of our legal system. Preet is very hopeful throughout (which is honestly needed especially now).
kristen527's review against another edition
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.5
lekakis's review against another edition
4.0
That was surprisingly good. It was very well written and thoughtful. Probably a good read for aspiring lawyers
ifyouhappentoremember's review against another edition
3.0
3.5
Well, this is certainly a Prosecutor's thoughts on Crime, Punishment, and the Rule of Law. I can't say I agreed with all of his points, but I appreciated his perspective. Preet Bharara illustrates his thoughts on the US Justice system by sharing his stories from his time as a prosecutor for the Southern District of New York. His perspective is a unique one as he rose to the highest position in SDNY, that of US Attorney.
I found the beginning to be slow but strangely, the more interesting portions at the end were quick and short.
Well, this is certainly a Prosecutor's thoughts on Crime, Punishment, and the Rule of Law. I can't say I agreed with all of his points, but I appreciated his perspective. Preet Bharara illustrates his thoughts on the US Justice system by sharing his stories from his time as a prosecutor for the Southern District of New York. His perspective is a unique one as he rose to the highest position in SDNY, that of US Attorney.
I found the beginning to be slow but strangely, the more interesting portions at the end were quick and short.
lahowitt's review against another edition
3.0
An interesting set of stories on criminal justice reform from the perspective of a prosecutor. Not anywhere near the caliber of writing and storytelling seen in Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson. Reading them so close together makes it hard not to draw parallels, and this one pales in comparison.
gemmamilne's review against another edition
5.0
This is a wonderful read. It’s beautiful writing plus fascinating stories, multiplied by a thought-provoking, emotional angle.
The book is split into parts, each focusing on the different stages of the journey of justice - from investigation to punishment. Each chapter focuses on a different story from Bharara’s career and life, and ends in a lesson of sorts around what justice means in today’s world.
I read this book thinking it would be an intriguing collection of stories, and I left with many moral and ethical puzzles to ponder, as well as a heightened respect for those whose job it is to make complex decisions impacting not just the individuals in front of them, but society as a whole.
The book is split into parts, each focusing on the different stages of the journey of justice - from investigation to punishment. Each chapter focuses on a different story from Bharara’s career and life, and ends in a lesson of sorts around what justice means in today’s world.
I read this book thinking it would be an intriguing collection of stories, and I left with many moral and ethical puzzles to ponder, as well as a heightened respect for those whose job it is to make complex decisions impacting not just the individuals in front of them, but society as a whole.
smtenaglia's review against another edition
5.0
This book often felt like Preet was sitting across a coffee table from me, sharing little vignettes from his tenure at SDNY in between snippets of career advice.
“The law is an amazing tool, but it has limits. Good people, on the other hand, don’t have limits. The law is not in the business of forgiveness and redemption. The law cannot compel us to love each other and respect each other. It cannot cancel hate or conquer evil; teach grace or extinguish passions. The law cannot achieve these things, not by itself. It takes people— brave and strong and extraordinary people.”
“You want to be a good lawyer? Work on how to speak. You want to be a great lawyer? Work on how you listen. You could substitute ‘leader’ for ‘lawyer’ in both of those sentences and express an even more universal truth.”
“Do the right thing, in the right way, for the right reasons. And do only that.”
“The law is an amazing tool, but it has limits. Good people, on the other hand, don’t have limits. The law is not in the business of forgiveness and redemption. The law cannot compel us to love each other and respect each other. It cannot cancel hate or conquer evil; teach grace or extinguish passions. The law cannot achieve these things, not by itself. It takes people— brave and strong and extraordinary people.”
“You want to be a good lawyer? Work on how to speak. You want to be a great lawyer? Work on how you listen. You could substitute ‘leader’ for ‘lawyer’ in both of those sentences and express an even more universal truth.”
“Do the right thing, in the right way, for the right reasons. And do only that.”
_rumpelstiltskin_'s review against another edition
3.0
I am ambivalent about this book.
On one hand, this is evidently an important book, as it presents a detailed portrait of a prosecutor's office, life and choices. This is not only for law students; everyone who's part of this society should know our justice system works - in this case, from the point of view of the government. What is it like being a prosecutor? What factors do you have to weigh when people's lives hang in the balance? What can and can't you say, what is and isn't your responsibility? These people shape the cities, the countries we live in. Plus, crime stories are fascinating.
On the other hand, crime stories are also moral tales. And sometimes I have the feeling the attorneys get too comfortable in their beliefs; they act like there are moral absolutes. That there are bad folks that must be punished and good folks that must be avenged and that most of the time it is pretty easy to say who is who. However, Bharara spends quite some time describing the horrific, inhumane conditions of Rikers Island. If we keep sending men to languish there, though, does this denouncing mean anything? Nietzche said that heaven has a view to hell so that virtuous people are twice satisfied: they enjoy not only the pleasure of being in heaven, but also of seeing the suffering of the sinners in hell. That's the schadenfreude quality of prison. For all the horrors of incarceration, we continue to see long, harsh sentences as "justice being done". While the book does discuss the moral vagaries of certain cases (most notably of the woman who kidnapped a baby girl and raised her as her own child), it seems to imply that gray zones are the exception and harsh punishment necessary to bring peace to victims.
Laws are made up by people and administered by people and that's the strongest and most vulnerable aspect of the book. It explains how the system is flawed because people have flaws, but the biggest problem is that, by definition, we cannot see our blind spots.
On one hand, this is evidently an important book, as it presents a detailed portrait of a prosecutor's office, life and choices. This is not only for law students; everyone who's part of this society should know our justice system works - in this case, from the point of view of the government. What is it like being a prosecutor? What factors do you have to weigh when people's lives hang in the balance? What can and can't you say, what is and isn't your responsibility? These people shape the cities, the countries we live in. Plus, crime stories are fascinating.
On the other hand, crime stories are also moral tales. And sometimes I have the feeling the attorneys get too comfortable in their beliefs; they act like there are moral absolutes. That there are bad folks that must be punished and good folks that must be avenged and that most of the time it is pretty easy to say who is who. However, Bharara spends quite some time describing the horrific, inhumane conditions of Rikers Island. If we keep sending men to languish there, though, does this denouncing mean anything? Nietzche said that heaven has a view to hell so that virtuous people are twice satisfied: they enjoy not only the pleasure of being in heaven, but also of seeing the suffering of the sinners in hell. That's the schadenfreude quality of prison. For all the horrors of incarceration, we continue to see long, harsh sentences as "justice being done". While the book does discuss the moral vagaries of certain cases (most notably of the woman who kidnapped a baby girl and raised her as her own child), it seems to imply that gray zones are the exception and harsh punishment necessary to bring peace to victims.
Laws are made up by people and administered by people and that's the strongest and most vulnerable aspect of the book. It explains how the system is flawed because people have flaws, but the biggest problem is that, by definition, we cannot see our blind spots.
branch_c's review
3.0
An informative and entertaining book that reads like a transcript of one of Bharara’s podcasts. It’s filled with anecdotes from his career that effectively illustrate his philosophy of justice, which boils down to a belief that although the system may be imperfect, justice can be served if the individual people that make up the system behave with integrity and good intentions.
The problem, of course, is that people in general don’t always do that, something that’s clearly demonstrated by the defendants in the cases described here. Of course we can hope that those who decide to pursue criminal justice professions skew toward the better aspects of human nature, and in fact they are an appropriate target audience for this book. Young lawyers could certainly do worse than to pick up some lessons from these pages.
Maybe it’s partially because I’ve listened to so many of his podcast episodes, but I find that the author’s voice really comes through in the writing. Yes, even with a bit of name dropping and humble bragging - it adds to Bharara’s bold personality and gives a ring of truth to the stories in the book. And at least he’s self-aware enough to include the time that his ten-year-old daughter called him a drama queen after reading a newspaper article about him.
I’ve never had any particular interest in law or criminal justice, but even so I’ve found the podcast to be fairly engaging, and this book is too.
The problem, of course, is that people in general don’t always do that, something that’s clearly demonstrated by the defendants in the cases described here. Of course we can hope that those who decide to pursue criminal justice professions skew toward the better aspects of human nature, and in fact they are an appropriate target audience for this book. Young lawyers could certainly do worse than to pick up some lessons from these pages.
Maybe it’s partially because I’ve listened to so many of his podcast episodes, but I find that the author’s voice really comes through in the writing. Yes, even with a bit of name dropping and humble bragging - it adds to Bharara’s bold personality and gives a ring of truth to the stories in the book. And at least he’s self-aware enough to include the time that his ten-year-old daughter called him a drama queen after reading a newspaper article about him.
I’ve never had any particular interest in law or criminal justice, but even so I’ve found the podcast to be fairly engaging, and this book is too.