Success Without Victory

Jules Lobel looks back on a history of litigating an impressive number of lost cases on behalf of important political causes. In this brilliant book, against a moving background of spiritual heritage, family life, and such quintessentially American cultural references as baseball and Vietnam, Lobel ponders these losses. What might have been a dry documentary of cases is, instead, a living, gripping, revelation of real people, their motivations and passions. Books such as Success without Victory tell us the stories of the legally unsuccessful anti-slavery litigation, early women's suffrage cases, workers rights struggles, and challenges to illegal U.S. intervention in Vietnam, Cuba, Central America, and Kosovo, giving us the background we need to understand that, if we can build solid community, we need not despair even when faced with today's horrendous odds. -- Margaret Randall,author of When I Look into the Mirror and See You: Women, Terror, and Resistance
Our culture in this countryincluding the subculture of radical lawyeringis too much influenced by a fast-food approach to social change. Jules Lobel carefully explains that the abolition of slavery, women's suffrage, and other monumental achievements of social protest movements in the United States came about because protesters, including lawyers, were long-distance runners. Law students and young lawyers in particular are likely to keep this book under their pillows. -- Staughton Lynd,author of Living Inside Our Hope: A Steadfast Radical's Thoughts on Rebuilding the Movement
This eloquent and moving memoir raises profound questions about law, justice, tradition and community, the path to constructive social change, and not least, how to live a decent life. It is an inspiring story, with many valuable lessons to ponder. -- Noam Chomsky
A vivid illustration. The book makes a valuable contribution to our evolving understanding of the work of cause lawyering and the significance of test case litigation. It stands as a beacon of hope in an era dominated by pessimism about the capacity of law and lawyers to contribute to progressive social change. * American Historical Review *
Success Without Victory is thoughtful and provocative, and I highly recommend it. It is highly readable, includes fascinating stories centered on powerful personalities and the sustained reflection on unilateral presidential war-making powers is timely. * Law and Politics Book Review *