Oliver Wendell Holmes: A Life in War, Law, and Ideas by Stephen Budiansky

My old formula is that a man should be an enthusiast in the front of his head without believing that the cosmos would collapse if he failed. One should have the same courage for failure that many have for death.

Since law school, a friend (What up, Ryan) and I have had a casual obsession with Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. It's not total agreement with him (is anyone crazy about "Three generations of imbeciles are enough," Buck v. Bell, 274 U.S. 200, 207 (1927)?). But, rather, I think the interest in Holmes stems from an approach to life, which Holmes embodied.

Holmes was a philosopher-professional: well-read, interested in the ideas of the day, and what those ideas offered to the problems of the day. Idealist feels right, but it'd actually be wrong: Holmes was deeply skeptical, and if he believed anything, it was in the need to be free from idealism. Still, I've always admired his commitment to engaging with ideas. He famously maintained correspondence with many people, especially people younger than him, keep up with what the kids were up to.

This interest aside, Budiansky's biography of Holmes was actually my first. I'd previously read Judge Posner's collection of Holmes's writing, and The Metaphysical Club, in which Holmes is featured as one of the club members.

I was surprised how much I already knew about Holmes's life: at a young age, Holmes fought for the union cause, got shot a shocking (almost comical) number of times; as a lawyer he wrote The Common Law, which is still one of the most American works about the common law; then a justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Court; then a justice of the United States Supreme Court.

Budiansky's biography offers a good opportunity to revisit Holmes and feel out the timeline of his life. But, there is something to be said for Holmes's observation that he himself wrote anything worth writing about himself: some of the best writing about Holmes is, well, some of Holmes's writing. This makes for a difficult biographic task: how do you add anything to the beautifully written letters, essays, and opinions? Budiansky adds context, timelines, and staying out of Holmes's way, quoting Holmes extensively (and to good effect) through the book.

Overall, I enjoyed the biography, but I am sympathetic to the New York Times review, which notes that Budiansky downplays the many contradictions of Holmes (like, wtf, re: Buck, man?). And, at times, the biography goes out of its way not to see Holmes in a bad light (are we sure he didn't have any affairs?). So: I'd recommend this as a good second book about Holmes, with Posner's collection of Holmes's writing being a better first book.