Wednesday, May 16, 2007
what i've been reading:
24: vignettes of legal history.
tells the stories behind some of the early cases, from marbury to dread scott.
Supports the thesis, recently argued at Volokh and elsewhere, that legal realism isn't so new; that the court's early decisions weren't just formalism, but were shaped by the political issues of the day. conversely, the appearance of formalism, that is, a perception that the judges were apolitical and somewhat objective, helped the court and the constitution acquire legitimacy and respect from the people.
Fairly readable book. Don't have it in front of me for author date etc - it's out in the car and i'm having a lazy day. Amazon? OK, here's a book review at JSTOR> Julius Marke, 1965. Apparently there was a volume 2 in 1975. Amapedia.com is something new; I'd guess it's a wiki sponsored by amazon.
what i've been reading today:
25: Meeting with Japan, Maraini, 1956. Amazon has a used copy for 46 cents; mine was free if a bit musty.
He's Italian, was interned during the war, but loves Japan and is writing to introduce it to Westerners. It's a nice snapshot of Japan after the war but before the electronics boom. It's about culture and character rather than politics.
I'm enjoying it.
I've been having one of those mildly zen experiences while reading it.. I notice
several different planes of perception going on. There are my daydreams as I hold the book but think of other things. There is the book, which is both a portal to a place and people, but also a window into the mind of the narrator, about whom we don't know much directly, but see him reflected by how he reacts to and interacts with the Japanese. Those inscrutable Italians. There is the room, which is both bedroom and living room, well, it's a futon, a tv, a computer, piles of junk, and a path to the door. There's the computer, showing me I don't have new mail, various tabs open and waiting for me to come back and finish reading articles. The TV is off, for now.
There's the sound of the wind rustling the leaves outside one window, and there's the view out the other window, of my garden and back lawn and the next row of houses, birds singing and some kind of machinery noises nearby.
Today, my focus has been on the daydreaming and on the book. Yesterday I went out and did things, maybe tomorrow I'll go out and do things or even write letters and memos,
but for now I'm going to get back to the book.
Here's a blogger's review:
This book is an absolute delight. The writing is lyrical. The insights, lucid. It's got me thinking a mile a minute. What an unexpected treasure! This is one of the best books I've ever read on Japan, even though (or perhaps because) it was written almost fifty years ago.
That's a nice blog more generally, if one is interested in japan.
The same author has another blog, about flowers.
As I get deeper into the book, the narrator reveals more about himself. In the beginning he's a traveler, talking about taking trains, trying to rent a car, occasionally running into people he knew from before the war. Later, it becomes evident that he is a scholar, and you get chapters on pagoda design or shinto history. So it's not just a travelogue, but a deeply informed one.
24: vignettes of legal history.
tells the stories behind some of the early cases, from marbury to dread scott.
Supports the thesis, recently argued at Volokh and elsewhere, that legal realism isn't so new; that the court's early decisions weren't just formalism, but were shaped by the political issues of the day. conversely, the appearance of formalism, that is, a perception that the judges were apolitical and somewhat objective, helped the court and the constitution acquire legitimacy and respect from the people.
Fairly readable book. Don't have it in front of me for author date etc - it's out in the car and i'm having a lazy day. Amazon? OK, here's a book review at JSTOR> Julius Marke, 1965. Apparently there was a volume 2 in 1975. Amapedia.com is something new; I'd guess it's a wiki sponsored by amazon.
what i've been reading today:
25: Meeting with Japan, Maraini, 1956. Amazon has a used copy for 46 cents; mine was free if a bit musty.
He's Italian, was interned during the war, but loves Japan and is writing to introduce it to Westerners. It's a nice snapshot of Japan after the war but before the electronics boom. It's about culture and character rather than politics.
I'm enjoying it.
I've been having one of those mildly zen experiences while reading it.. I notice
several different planes of perception going on. There are my daydreams as I hold the book but think of other things. There is the book, which is both a portal to a place and people, but also a window into the mind of the narrator, about whom we don't know much directly, but see him reflected by how he reacts to and interacts with the Japanese. Those inscrutable Italians. There is the room, which is both bedroom and living room, well, it's a futon, a tv, a computer, piles of junk, and a path to the door. There's the computer, showing me I don't have new mail, various tabs open and waiting for me to come back and finish reading articles. The TV is off, for now.
There's the sound of the wind rustling the leaves outside one window, and there's the view out the other window, of my garden and back lawn and the next row of houses, birds singing and some kind of machinery noises nearby.
Today, my focus has been on the daydreaming and on the book. Yesterday I went out and did things, maybe tomorrow I'll go out and do things or even write letters and memos,
but for now I'm going to get back to the book.
Here's a blogger's review:
This book is an absolute delight. The writing is lyrical. The insights, lucid. It's got me thinking a mile a minute. What an unexpected treasure! This is one of the best books I've ever read on Japan, even though (or perhaps because) it was written almost fifty years ago.
That's a nice blog more generally, if one is interested in japan.
The same author has another blog, about flowers.
As I get deeper into the book, the narrator reveals more about himself. In the beginning he's a traveler, talking about taking trains, trying to rent a car, occasionally running into people he knew from before the war. Later, it becomes evident that he is a scholar, and you get chapters on pagoda design or shinto history. So it's not just a travelogue, but a deeply informed one.
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