Contrary to Popular Opinion (September 1992): In his syndicated newspaper column, Harvard Law School professor Dershowitz (Chutzpah) comments on contemporary legal and public policy issues. The self-described "civil libertarian"p. xiii is himself often newsworthy as the attorney for prominent criminal defendants such as Leona Helmsley and, of late, Mia Farrow. Mike Tyson. He states that he uses the publicity generated by these cases, about which many people have made up their minds in advance of trial, to highlight vital legal questions. The 150 columns, articles and essays collected here offer lively, challenging explorations of important debates. Divided into five parts, the book covers the range of Dershowitz's concerns: the courts, right- and left-wing intolerance, the First Amendment, abortion, women's rights, the death penalty and anti-Semitism. His thoughts are provocative and well worth reading.

Chutzpah (May 1992): Leo Rosten, in his The Joys of Yiddish ( LJ 10/1/68), defines chutzpah as "gall, brazen nerve, effrontery, incredible 'guts,' presumption plus arrogance such as no other word and no other language can do justice to." Dershowitz ( Reversal of Fortune , LJ 4/1/86 ) , perhaps the most famous lawyer in the United States today, argues here that U.S. Jewry should shed its second-class citizenship syndrome and show a little chutzpah in defining its relationship with gentile, Christian America. He pleads that U.S. Jews have nothing to be ashamed of, since they have made vital contributions to the nation and deserve the same rights and privileges as their gentile compatriots. His thesis ranges through a spectrum of fascinating essays about anti-Semitism on college campuses, the state of Israel, the Holocaust, Auschwitz, the Jewish religion, and church/state relations. Brilliant, provocative, controversial, and as "chutzpadik" as its author, this book should have a wide audience and is enthusiastically recommended for public library collections.