The Making of a Country Lawyer is the firsthand account of a beloved American attorney, a modern-day folk hero, a man who has devoted his life's work to the downtrodden and damned. It is the story of a wayward son who, at the age of twenty, suffered an immense and tragic loss. It is this single dark moment in Spence's life that transformed him, preparing him to be a trial lawyer, eventually handling such landmark cases as the defence of Randy Weaver and the vindication of Karen Silkwood. This is the stirring memoir of a man who has captured the American imagination at a time when our belief in our values and in ourselves has been shaken to the core, told as only Gerry Spence can.

This engaging and objective biography gives us a comprehensive account of Ervin's life and career, tracing his development from a shy romantic youth into the complex and mature man. The author tells of the boyhood years in North Carolina, the influences of family, friends, and history, the college years, World War I, and Harvard, as well as Ervin's frequently colorful apprenticeship as country lawyer, judge, state legislator, congressman, and senator. Clancy brings to his task a thorough knowledge of Ervin developed while covering his activities prior to and during Watergate. He has had many exclusive private interviews with the Senator, his wife, family, friends, and staff during which Ervin in particular shared many reminiscences, anecdotes, and stories which have not appeared before.

The Making of a Country Lawyer is the firsthand account of a beloved American attorney, a modern-day folk hero, a man who has devoted his life's work to the downtrodden and damned. It is the story of a wayward son who, at the age of twenty, suffered an immense and tragic loss. It is this single dark moment in Spence's life that transformed him, preparing him to be a trial lawyer, eventually handling such landmark cases as the defence of Randy Weaver and the vindication of Karen Silkwood. This is the stirring memoir of a man who has captured the American imagination at a time when our belief in our values and in ourselves has been shaken to the core, told as only Gerry Spence can.

Originally published in 1984, Senator Ervin's delightful collection of stories and anecdotes winds its way from his native Morganton through Chapel Hill and Harvard, the military, the North Carolina Supreme Court, the United States Senate, and Watergate. It represents a lifetime of wit and wisdom--told in the late Senator Ervin's inimitable style.

These finely tempered reflections of a small city lawyer restate, in a graceful and informal manner, the true meaning of law and government to ordinary men. F. Lyman Windolph, for twenty-five years a prominent attorney in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, has handled almost every kind of legal case in his career, and through his close association with his clients he has gained an understanding of their lives and problems which, coupled with his wide legal knowledge, and alert sense of the social questions of the present, gives his essays a disarming and reassuring tone. Lawyers especially will enjoy his discussion of his experience with various cases and the more general topics of the value of the jury system, the difference between city and country trials, the ethics of defending guilty clients. But all will find the chapters on the meaning of democracy and liberalism and the indirect picture which the book gives of the day-by-day life in a small American community richly rewarding. In the last instance, two final essays—one on the Pennsylvania Dutch religious sects and "A Letter to My Father"—are particularly delightful. Several of the chapters have previously been published in the Atlantic Monthly and other magazines.