Alan Dershowitz went from a poor, failing high school student from Brooklyn to the youngest professor in Harvard Law School’s history.
Over the years, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas; actress Natalie Portman; former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo; and U.S. Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Maryland, were among those who studied under him.
Legal Gladiator by Solomon Schmidt explores Dershowitz’s rise to prominence, giving the inside story of his most high-profile cases and controversies, and provides a shockingly intimate look into his personal life. The legal luminary gave Schmidt unprecedented access to his personal and professional life, including his private archives at Brooklyn College and dozens of interviews.
As an advocate for Israel, Dershowitz became a confidant of Israeli prime ministers, including Benjamin Netanyahu. It is also the story of a zealous young liberal who, as an old man, stood in front of the Senate to declare that they would be violating the U.S. Constitution by removing a Republican president he opposed.
Dershowitz has had a major impact on the most notorious legal cases in modern U.S. history as a lawyer. From Claus von Bulow to Mike Tyson to O.J. Simpson to Jeffrey Epstein, he has devoted his life to championing the bedrock principle of the American justice system: that every person — no matter how despised — has the right to a rigorous legal defense.
This book includes exclusive interviews with numerous celebrities and politicians, including Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, boxer Mike Tyson and former President Donald Trump.
