Lawyers, Liars and the Art of Storytelling

As a trial lawyer myself, I have started reading and enjoying books about the relationship between the law and storytelling. I was expecting this book to be more of a treatise on storytelling, but it (unabashedly) wound up being a chance for Shapiro to tell great stories from his career. Although it wasn't quite what I was looking for, I can't deny that I had a wonderful time reading this book. There is a lot of wisdom you can gain from this book if you go into it with an open mind. It's funny, it's sharp, and it teaches many important lessons about why storytelling is an oft overlooked skill in today's world. Pick it up. You won't regret it.(Also, I read this book before watching Goliath on Amazon Prime. I know this isn't a Goliath review, but that's worth your time as well. Highly entertaining!)

The book is a collection of stories with various dregrees of relevance, dry humor and legal insights. Most of the book is devouted to recollection of personal stories from the author, that has certainly met interesting people and seems to be an interesesting fellow himself. To say that the fundamental elements of rhetoric in this book are scarce is an overstatement, but that isn't the point anyway. Shapiro weaves a pleasant narrative of the function of stories in legal profession, frequently affirming his ethos and pathos. He is a wildly successful legal pratictioner and a TV screenwriter. He also seems an amiable, cool guy. His logos, however, speaks more of elegance than of substance. This is a book about mild entretainment, not much about persuasiveness or Law.

It's well written and does give quite a few insights into writing in general but also what makes good writing. His writing style his very forward and at times made me chuckle because of the real life examples he gives. He explains the three basics: ethos, logos, and pathos. He goes into detail as to why giving attention (even minimally) to these three aspects in your writing it important. The author also explains almost everything without being too preachy or pedantic. While I won't highly recommend this book, it was worth reading, and for the $14 I paid for my copy it was definitely worth it.

If you are a lawyer, you should read this book. If you want to become a lawyer, you should read this book. If you hate lawyers, you should read this book.The "art" of storyteller is the heart, mind, and soul of lawyering. But like a lot of art, most of us do it poorly, as amateurs, or hobbyists.This book is an interesting look, and a subtle study, of the art of storytrlling. If you read it, you will find it an enjoyable, breezy read, and you will not even realize you are learning to tell a story.

I enjoyed this book funny antidotes. Could not put it down.

Decent book but not really that much of a practical how to guide.

Excellent Fun Book

Put simply, there are better books to spend the money and time on if you're interested in becoming a better trial lawyer.

Probably very good, but eccentrically self-congratulatory throughout. Think of it as a kind of self-promoting mosaic in which is embedded a treasure hunt for a half dozen or so really important ideas.