A selection of nonfiction books published by Columbia Law School alumni in 2024 includes memoirs that range from political to personal.
Six memoirs—including one in cookbook form—and a compendium of advice for law students are among the nonfiction books published by Columbia Law graduates this year.
Democracy in Retrograde: How to Make Changes Big and Small in Our Country and in Our Lives
Gallery Books, July 2024
Emily Amick ’11, former counsel to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, and co-author Sami Sage reframe civic engagement as an assertion of one’s values and self-respect. The book includes real stories of regular people who have made a difference along with exercises and quizzes to form a choose-your-own-adventure map to civic engagement.
Always Enough: A Global Food Memoir
Skyhorse Publishing, April 2024
Annette Anthony ’89 describes how she developed her identity as a cook by immersing herself in local cooking and culture while living and traveling around the world. The 160 recipes she shares promote flavors and ingredients not emphasized in traditional Western cooking and serve up dishes for vegetarians and meat eaters alike.
In Whom I Am Well Pleased
En Route Books, July 2024
Edward T. Byrne ’75 chronicles the life and loss of his son Matt, an athlete and lifeguard who became a New York City firefighter, then suffered from post-traumatic stress syndrome that led him to take his own life in 2014. Byrne’s story of his family’s tragedy seeks to give other parents the awareness needed to avoid similar loss, or additional strength to survive it.
Cherish America (Stories of Courage, Character, and Kindness)
Tower Publishing, September 2024
Robert Charles ’87 tells the stories of memorable people—including those he encountered during his career as a lawyer, political consultant, and assistant secretary of state—who are examples of “lives well-lived,” designed to remind readers of American nobility and the heroes among us.
The Originalism Trap: How Extremists Stole the Constitution and How We the People Can Take It Back
Random House, June 2024
Madiba K. Dennie ‘15, an attorney, columnist, and former counsel at the Brennan Center for Justice, critiques originalism and argues for a new approach that serves everyone: inclusive constitutionalism. She disentangles the Constitution’s ideals from originalist ideology and underscores the ambition of the Reconstruction Amendments, which were adopted in the wake of the Civil War and sought to build a democracy with equal membership for marginalized people.
How AI, Metaverses, Crypto and Cyber will Upend the 21st Century
Edward Elgar Publishing, August 2024
Jon M. Garon ’88, a professor at Nova Southeastern University Shepard Broad College of Law, explores the metamorphosis of social interactions and communal experiences, fueled by technologies such as artificial intelligence, immersive online environments, augmented reality, blockchain, and crypto—while examining the competitors, regulators, and governments that are struggling to control the future shaped by these technologies.
How to Show Up and Shine in Law School With Gratitude, Grit, and Grace
Pact Press, October 2024
A book of advice for law students that focuses on mindfulness, gratitude, worthiness, and how to persevere in the face of unexpected challenges, rather than exam-taking skills and outlining strategies. Her first bit of wisdom for nervous 1Ls: “You are ready for what lies ahead, despite what you may feel.”
Behind Closed Doors: In the Room with Reagan & Nixon
Post Hill Press, July 2024
An insider’s account by a political adviser and confidante to Presidents Ronald Reagan and Richard Nixon during tumultuous periods of American history. Ken Khachigian ’69, a California-based political strategist, was an adviser on nine presidential campaigns and served as Reagan’s chief speechwriter—but got his start working on Nixon’s 1968 campaign in between classes at Columbia Law.
Midnight in Moscow: A Memoir from the Front Lines of Russia’s War Against the West
Little, Brown & Co., August 2024
John J. Sullivan ’85 was the American ambassador to Russia from 2020 to 2022, when U.S.-Russia relations hit its nadir with the invasion of Ukraine. In his memoir of service, he describes both the offices of the U.S. Embassy and the halls of the Kremlin during this climactic period and shows how the regime of President Vladimir Putin repeatedly lied about its intentions to invade Ukraine in the weeks leading up to the attack on Ukraine in February 2022.
Corporatocracy: How to Protect Democracy from Dark Money and Corrupt Politicians
NYU Press, November 2024
Ciara Torres-Spelliscy ’01, a fellow at the Brennan Center for Justice and professor at Stetson University College of Law, explains how corporations work to undermine democratic norms with practices ranging from bankrolling regressive politicians to funding ghost candidates with dark money—and how courts try to hold them and corrupt politicians accountable.
The Trump Indictments: The Historic Charging Documents with Commentary
W.W. Norton, February 2024
Law professors, cable news commentators, and co-authors Andrew Weissmann ’84 and Melissa Murray, Frederick I. and Grace Stokes Professor of Law at NYU Law, provide analysis on the charging documents of four indictments against President-elect Donald Trump.
Remember, You Are a Wiley
Grand Central Publishing, September 2024
Civil rights lawyer, legal commentator, and former New York mayoral candidate Maya Wiley ’89 tells the story of her life and family, from her upbringing in Washington, D.C., as the child of political activists to her stint in the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, where she was the only Black lawyer at the time, to her run for mayor on a progressive platform of representing those who have felt voiceless or ignored.
Columbia Law graduates filled a shelf with tales including mystery, tragedy, romance, and poetry.