Docket Series
Publisher: Oceana Publications
Years: 1955-1969
Related Series: --
Julius Marke, Law Librarian at New York University School of Law, was the general editor of the Docket Series, as well as the editor of the first title, The Holmes Reader.
Advertisement, 49 A.B.A. J. 131 (1963)
More Information
Oceana Publications Announces New Series, 166 PW 2322-2323 (Dec. 18, 1954).
In a review of Marke's Holmes Reader, at 41 A.B.A. J. 841-42 (1955), Arthur John Keefe, of Catholic University Law School, comments on Marke's contributions and the general aim of the series:
This work is a superbly edited profile of the eminent Supreme Court Justice, Oliver Wendell Holmes. Mr. Marke, whose background in the field of legal research and library science eminently suits him for his task, has produced a readable, balanced and diversified portrait. . . . Perhaps equally as significant as the work itself is the format which the publishers have chosen for it. Oceana Publications initiates here a new series, known as Docket Books. They are designed to create new classics in Anglo-American law. The fact that a long and happy voyage in jurisprudence can be had for the price of $1.00 in an attractively paperbound book means that both the law student and practitioner can build up a fine library at nominal cost.
Julius Marke, Legal Bibliography, 1955 ANN. SURV. AM. L. 690 (1955):
Oceana Publications has initiated a new series to be known as the Docket Series which, according to Professor David S. Stern of the University of Miami School of Law, "marks a milestone in law book publishing. It will be imitated; it is hoped so much so that, within the near future, our great legal figures may shoulder a few of the putrescent novels from the racks of 'paper backs'" The novelty of Docket Series books lies in the format, consisting of attractively paper bound books, inexpensively priced, and designed to present outstanding classic legal thought and scholarship for the law student and political scientist. "The idea is a device that will introduce thousands to an interest in law who otherwise might have remained in outer darkness," was expressed to your reviewer recently by an outstanding jurist.
Three books have already been published in this series and they have been well received. The editors of these readers select their material from hundreds of articles and works on and by the legal personality considered with the purpose of presenting a well-rounded picture of the man, his position in the legal society, the role he played, his influence, and a present evaluation of his contribution. The value of the approach used by the editors is in the selection of the articles, for they consist not only of the personality's work, but also articles on him by eminent authorities. The articles are also chosen for style as a guide for law students. In the evaluation process the attempt is to be sophisticated so that every facet of the man's character and thought both favorable and detrimental are brought out.