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Summary: Riveting behind-the-scenes look at four real-life trials...
Review: The four cases Senator Edwards writes about should give pause to those who instinctively trash trial lawyers. Talking heads, for the most part, seem to just increase the partisan divide whereas "Four Trials" illustrates why ordinary people sometimes need help to combat injustices, whether it's medical negligence or out-and-out corporate greed. That a company could refuse to tack on a two cent screw to make a swimming pool drain cover secure-able is mind-boggling -- and unfortunately, tragically life-changing for the young girl who will remain hooked up to machines for a good part of every day for the rest of her life. Senator Edwards makes it clear that there are excesses in litigation. What he also makes abundantly clear in "Four Trials" is that actions have consequences, and trials can help redress wrongs. One thing I learned from this book is that in addition to helping an individual -- like the little girl and the troubling swimming pool drain cover, these trials also address bigger issues -- the big picture can change: no other children will face those same drain cover problems when they go swimming BECAUSE of the little girl's trial. On the political front, these cases help you understand what Senator Edwards means when he says he's running for President to help the regular guy. The fortitude and courage of the individuals he champions on the campaign trail are the exact same kind of people he writes about in this book. And on the personal front, Mr. Edwards loses the mantles of politician and lawyer and becomes a "regular" guy when he talks of the love he has for his eldest child, who was killed in a car accident 7 years ago. This book is a good read and you can actually learn something while you're at it!
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Summary: "CHARACTER IS DESTINY."
Review: The Greeks have a saying: "Character is destiny." In this book, John Edwards character shines through both the gripping narrative of the four trials and the autobiographical highlights and lowlight. What you get is the portrait of a man who possesses a rare combination of head and heart qualities. Since, in addition to being a skillful author, John Edwards is also a candidate for President, this is good to know. We could do worse.
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Summary: A Great Read about a Great Guy
Review: This book gives a compelling picture of the kind of person who John Edwards is and the kind of intellectual brilliance, emapthy, and passion he brings to his courtroom work. I was amazed to find this a terrific read, because the courtroom stories are so interesting and well told and because of the pciture of the person that emerges. On hears Edwards' voice in all of this, a man who wants to help those in need, who cares about his family and other peoples' families, and someone who can reflect and learn from his experiences.
Whatever one's politics, I think this book will be a page turner, a spirit lifter, and a thought provoker. It has always amused me that those who defend the negligently injured people who could never affort $500 and up for a lawyer are well-regarded by some than corporate lawyers who make those salaries for doing work no less intellectual challenging and certainly no more humanly important.
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Summary: riveting from beginning to end
Review: This book helped me understand what goes on in the minds of lawyers. Whenever I wanted to be a lawyer, I always wondered what went on in their minds. Even though John Edwards has a lot of money and is a politician, this book makes him seem extremely human and that money isn't his #1 priority. Even though I support President Bush, I believe John Edwards is a great man and he has done a good job fighting for the "little guy".
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Summary: Can't put it down; Grisham-esque but TRUE stories!
Review: This book is not at all what I expected. It has absolutely nothing to do with Sen. Edwards' presidential campaign, and only mentions his service in the Senate in passing. The book describes four trials which Sen. Edwards considers pivotal in his legal career. It reads with the same excitement and intrigue as a John Grisham novel, except that everything in the book is TRUE! The four cases themselves serve as an excellent reminder of how, used properly, our judicial system serves as a mechanism to protect the rights of the individual from being trampled by large, indifferent corporations.
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Summary: Trial lawyer as hero? You bet!
Review: This book just might change your opinion of lawyers forever. Edwards dispels the pervasive cultural prejudice against lawyers by telling four compelling true stories of tragedy and justice. These are stories of people whose lives were ruined by circumstances beyond their control. The law could never give back to them what they had lost. What it could do, with the help of one compassionate lawyer named John Edwards, was to help minimize the negative impact their tragedies would have on the rest of their lives.Four Trials is moving and poignant. It is also no less than a restorative tonic for one's faith in the American system of justice. John Edwards' character, his love for people, and his great respect for the law shine through in the book. Reading it impressed me so much with his integrity and compassion that I now have a new hero and a new dream for this country: to make this man President some day.
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Summary: Unbelievable
Review: This book made you wanna believe again and made you recognize some of the problems people face in the world today. John Edwards is an outsanding man who I hope achieves all his goals in the sense he has a positive proper vision for America. Senator John Edwards thank you for showing me a different light in this book.
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Summary: A great book for voter and litigator alike
Review: This book not only gives a good picture of the man and his family, but is full of instructive anecdotes for trial attorneys, particularly on openings, closings and how to keep the "big picture" in mind -- a difficult task at trial with its masses of important and pressing details. There are a few episodes that I hope were written as being pitched to non-trial attorney types -- Edwards' perplexity in the face of the long winded expert's responses and the "revelation/solution" of using depo transcript excerpts could not have played out the way it did -- even bad trial attorneys know to use the transcrpits as impeachment, impeachment being a central reason for taking the depo testimony in the first place. Certainly a trial attorney of Edwards' stellar caliber would use the transcripts in impeachment without hesitation (and probably to devastating effect). It may, moreover, be safer to save the question for which you have no corresponding impeachment testimony for the second to lasr question so that you can assure finishing with a florish guaranteed by having impeachment testimony saved for the last question (But then again, I don't have hundreds of millions in jury verdicts and settlements, so don't listen to me). Well worth the money and very well executed.
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Summary: A great book and a riviting read
Review: This book would give John Grisham a run for his money - the fact these are not fictional trial stories make them truly gripping. The character of the writer comes through vividly as Edwards describes each case's background and how he approached his work. Edwards masterfully interspersed vignettes of his own life without a heavy hand. I was not prepared for the power of this book and simply couldn't put it down. How fortunate we are to have John Edwards as a candidate for President this year -- I definitely plan to vote for him and truly hope we get this man of character and integrity in the White House.
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Summary: Insight into the mind of our next President
Review: This is not your typical political biography, but rather a memoir of selected trials of a man who has dedicated his life to serving others. His optimism, compassion, and dedication to bettering the lives of those he represents is made abundantly clear in this book. I highly recommend it, and if you are not convinced now, maybe on November 2, 2004, you'll reconsider. :-)
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