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In Thine Alabaster Cities Gleam follow Lawrence R. Velvel's long career through the numerous major events, professional and political, that have defined his life and work. Read about his early days as a young law professor challenging the constitutionality of the Viet Nam War, his time spent working for the Department of Justice where he rejected indefensible government positions he was being asked to take, litigating mega cases for huge law firms and working alongside notables like Robert Bork, and uprooting his family to New England and co-founding a law school there that would be affordable to minorities and students with a working class background instead of being largely confined to the elites as other law schools are. Read of the unremitting opposition he and his colleagues faced both from New England politicians and the American Bar Association, and how the cofounders finally overcame years of bitter opposition and dirty tricks. This memoir is the work of a man The National Jurist has called "a modern day crusader" and "one of the most influential people in legal education over the past 15 years." Critics say Velvel's memoirs read like a novel and many leading intellectuals have heaped great praise on Thine Alabaster Cities Gleam. Noted author, lawyer and human rights activist Jules Lobel had this to say about Velvel's work: "Lawrence Velvel focuses this story on the values which should be so central to American life - honesty and integrity - and which so often are not. This inspiring book gives us hope that we can lead our lives in an honest and meaningful way, if we don't succumb to following the path of least resistance." Social critic, historian and professor Amitai Etzioni writes, "A most telling story of things past, with numerous implications for our world and that of tomorrow. Whether you are concerned about foreign policy or domestic troubles, this is a story you will enjoy and learn from." Finally, best selling author of A People's History of the United States and activist Howard Zinn has this to say about the book, "Lawrence R. Velvel's book…delivers a scathing critique, based on personal experience, of the pretense and corruption that pervades the world of academe, of law schools, and the legal profession. And it carries the critique further, into the court system, right up to the Supreme Court, as he examines the failure of the courts to summon up enough courage to rule on the constitutionality of the war in Vietnam. Coming from a dean of a law school, this bold refusal to 'play ball,' to 'play it safe' is especially refreshing."
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