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University of Wyoming

Faculty and Staff Picks

The following texts have been recommended by faculty and staff at the University of Wyoming College of Law.  Texts are available for check-out in Reference M-C-1.

 

Cardozo

by Andrew L. Kaufman, (Harvard University Press, 1998)

This outstanding biography presents the life and work of Benjamin Nathan Cardozo, one of America’s most influential judges. Although he died in 1938, Cardozo decisions and lectures remain very much alive and of great importance to the legal profession. This well-written book explains leading Cardozo decisions in an understandable manner. In addition, its discussion of Cardozo lectures on judicial decision making is both readable and illuminating.

PROFESSOR HARVEY GELB, KEPLER CHAIR IN LAW AND LEADERSHIP.

 

 

Credit Card Nation, The Consequences of America’s Addiction to Credit

by Robert D. Manning, (Basic Books, 2000)

This book takes a journalistic “expose” tone to the topic of consumer credit, and is packed with facts and figures about consumer credit marketing methods. Despite the “crusading” style adopted by the author, it is quite interesting and raises questions that are worthy of public debate, such as whether credit cards should be aggressively marketed on college campuses, and what constitutes “predatory” lending.

DEE PRIDGEN, ASSOCIATE DEAN AND PROFESSOR OF LAW.

 

 

Credit Scores & Credit Reports, How the System Really Works, What You Can Do

 by Evan Hendricks, (Privacy Times, 2d ed. 2005)

This is an easy-to-read “how to” guide to the world of credit reports and credit scoring. It tells how to obtain, read, and correct or dispute errors in your credit report, and how to clean up a credit record following identity theft, or how to do the same for a consumer client. It appears to be well researched and accurate without being overly technical. I especially liked the chapter on the “2003 FACTA Battle,” which describes some of the Congressional politics that went into a rather ambitious but complex revision of the Fair Credit Reporting Act. I think law students, lawyers, and indeed all consumer who participate in the credit economy, will find this book very useful.

DEE PRIDGEN, ASSOCIATE DEAN AND PROFESSOR OF LAW.

 

 

Fahrenheit 451

by Ray Bradbury, (Random House, 1953)

Books burn at 451 degrees Fahrenheit.  Long before becoming a librarian (and self-proclaimed protector of information), the idea of firemen burning books left me feeling charred.  Though our firemen today are still putting out fires rather than starting them, we can see truths foretold in Bradbury's 1953 novel.  He speaks of education, nature, technology, and humanity in such a way that makes us want to become avid readers.

TAWNYA PLUMB, ASSISTANT LIBRARIAN.

 

 

Great Expectations

 by Charles Dickens, (Modern Library Classics, 2001)

It is unfortunate that so many adults associate Dickens with the drudgery and boredom of high school English class. Dickens is always great fun, and never more so than in Great Expectations. This book also holds particular rewards for lawyers. No lawyer who has made the acquaintance of the defense lawyer Jaggers and his clerk Wemmick will ever think in quite the same way about the relationship between the lawyer’s professional and personal lives.

ERIC JOHNSON, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF LAW.

 

 

The Known World

by Edward P. Jones, (Harper Collins, 2003)

From personal experience, I know how difficult it is to read non-law books while in law school. Fiction, especially historical fiction, can be a great escape when you need it. With the winter break coming up, here is my recommendation for a story that is both rich in detail and emotion. Jones’s book is a work of historical fiction about antebellum Virginia. Here is an NPR link  to an article about the book.

Anetra D. E. Parks, Director, Law career services

 

 

Letters of a Woman Homesteader

by Elinore Pruitt Stewart, (Mariner Books, 1998)

These simple letters record frontier life near Southern Wyoming in the early part of the last century. In her solitary lifestyle Elinore reveals strength, acceptance, and courage in her day to day struggles and shows warmth and compassion for neighbors and strangers she encounters. This work is our own local history so charmingly represented that her correspondent brought it to the attention of a friend and publisher who published the letters and commissioned another book, Letters on an Elk Hunt.

DEBBIE PERSON, ASSOCIATE LIBRARIAN.

 

 

Right Ho, Jeeves

by P.G. Wodehouse, (Overlook Press, 1934)

My favorite humorist, hands down, is P.G. Wodehouse.  He seems to be quite popular with lawyers, from British P.M. Tony Blair, to Rumpole's creator John Mortimer, to America's own Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.  Wodehouse is probably best known now through the "Jeeves & Wooster" series, with Stepfen Fry and Hugh Laurie (Dr. House) that was shown on PBS in the 90s.  Right Ho, Jeeves contains what I think is the funniest scene ever written - Gussie Fink Nottle's inebriated distribution of prizes to students at the Market Snodsbury Grammar School.

TIMOTHY KEARLEY, PROFESSOR OF LAW & DIRECTOR OF THE LAW LIBRARY

 

 

Taming the Sharks, Towards a Cure for the High-Cost Credit Market

by Christopher L. Peterson, (University of Akron Press, 2004)

This is a history of consumer credit regulation that surveys developments from the Code of Hammurabi in 1750 B.C. to present day issues surrounding payday lending. Peterson provides an extensive discussion of the Truth in Lending Act, passed in 1968, and contrasts this disclosure of credit costs approach with more restrictive usury laws that attempt to hold down the cost of credit. Peterson has specific suggestions for law reform, and concludes on a hopeful note that the disease of high-cost credit can be cured.

DEE PRIDGEN, ASSOCIATE DEAN AND PROFESSOR OF LAW.

 

 

Their Eyes Were Watching God

by Zora Neale Hurston, (Stone Cottage Books, 1994)

This is one of my favorite books because I could really relate to the story at the time that I read it. Zora Neale Hurston was doing innovative anthropological research in African-American communities in the south in ways that most black women (or people in general) weren't doing back in the 30s. She is one of my favorite authors, and I like her stories and admire her for the work she did. Also, especially when I first read it, I identified to a degree +with the main character, Janie. The story is about her coming into her own both because of and in spite of her relationships with various other characters, mostly men, and the journey she takes. At the end of the story, the reader is left with the reassurance that no matter what happens, you can always go home.

JACQUELYN BRIDGEMAN, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF LAW.

 

 

Thurman Arnold: A Biography

by Spencer Weber Waller (NYU Press, 2005)

I was attracted to this book for several reasons.  First, it’s the life story of one of Laramie’s most famous and successful lawyers.  Second, Thurman Arnold was a well known Trust Buster during the Franklin Roosevelt administration.  I thought by reading this book I would pick up some insights into the history of antitrust, a subject I teach and one that is part of any good business law curriculum. Thurman Arnold’s life also encompassed some aspects of the McCarthy anti-communist “witch hunt” era.  Finally, I had become acquainted with the author, Spencer Waller, when he was in Laramie doing research for the book, and again when he presented a lecture about the book as part of the Maxfield Distinguished Speaker series at the University of Wyoming College of Law in February 2006.  Spencer Waller gave a lively and fascinating account of both Thurman Arnold and the process of researching and writing this biography.  Professor Waller’s presentation made me want to read this book and I am glad I did.  The book is a gem and one that should be read by anyone who wants to be inspired by a great figure in American legal history, Thurman Arnold. 

DEE PRIDGEN, ASSOCIATE DEAN AND PROFESSOR OF LAW.

 

 

Unlikely Heroes

by Jack Bass, (University of Alabama Press, 1990)


It's about the role of several Southern federal judges in the civil rights era. It is of particular significance to me because my first ever appearance in court (when I was a law student) was before one of those judges – John Minor Wisdom.  

DIANE COURSELLE, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF LAW.