The Common Law

By: Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr.

Narrated by: Ellis Freeman

Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. (1841-1935) is generally considered one of the two greatest justices of the United States Supreme Court. In more than 2000 opinions, he delineated an impressive legal philosophy that profoundly influenced American jurisprudence, particularly in the area of civil liberties and judicial restraint.

In The Common Law, derived from a series of lectures delivered at the Lowell Institute in Boston, Holmes systematized his legal doctrines. The result is an timeless classic. Beginning with historical forms of liability, the work proceeds to discussions of criminal law, torts, bails, possession and ownership, contracts, successions and various other aspects of civil and criminal law.

First published in 1881, the book is indispensable listening for lawyers, political scientists, and historians. A famous aphorism to be drawn from The Common Law appears in the first few minutes: "The life of the law has not been logic: it has been experience."

Public Domain (P)2020 Museum Audiobooks

Important book, very badly read

I got this audiobook to try to understand Holmes' beliefs about how the law relates to morality and justice. It's not an easy read. Holmes sometimes prefers flowery, ambiguous language to simple clarity. The reader makes it much harder. He has a beautiful voice, but he doesn't seem to know what he's reading. He doesn't know how to pronounce a lot of the words: indict, cogency, exigency, and others, so you sometimes have to stop and guess what Holmes actually said. Worse, the reader frequently halts in mid-sentence, sometimes many times, which occasionally changes the meaning of the sentence. Publisher: please hire actors to read your books.

Atrocious performance

For the love of god, do not buy this version of the book. The reader is atrociously illiterate! Audible should be ashamed that it makes this recording available! It’s an embarrassment for this legal classic by one of the greatest American jurist. Cease and desist. Trash this recording forever. Have Robertson Dean read this classic.