Harold J. Berman was an Ames professor of Law at Harvard Law School and Emory University for over sixty years. He was an expert in comparative, international, and Russian law, as well as legal history and philosophy, and the intersection of law and religion. His extensive knowledge and profound contemplation of the nature of law left an indelible mark on legal thought.
The roots of modern Western legal institutions and concepts go back nine centuries to the papal revolution, when the Western church established its political and legal unity and its independence from emperors, kings, and feudal lords. Out of this upheaval came the Western idea of integrated legal systems developed over generations and centuries.
The Address, Twelve Early Responses, Six Later Reflections
When Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn gave the commencement address at Harvard University in 1978, many Americans expected to hear their country praised by this celebrated refugee from a totalitarian state. Instead they heard some sharply critical views of their legal system, their press, their popular culture, and even their national will. The forthright and controversial speech makes up Part One of this book. A sampling of the avalanche of comment that followed it is included in Part Two. In Part Three, six thoughtful scholars reflect on the ideas and judgments expressed by the great Russian writer.