David Boies, the star trial lawyer in a country obsessed with legal drama, proves endlessly fascinating in this compulsively readable account of his extraordinary career.A man of almost superhuman accomplishment, Boies argued a string of headline-making cases before being catapulted to international prominence when he represented Al Gore before the Supreme Court in Bush v. Gore. Brash, reckless, and prideful, he is also charming, charismatic, unerringly articulate in the courtroom, and supremely comfortable in the public eye. Legal journalist Karen Donovan, herself a lawyer, had unprecedented access to Boies for nearly two years. In v. Goliath she gives us a scintillating chronicle of the legal dramas in which Boies has played a crucial role and a riveting, up-close portrait of a singularly gifted lawyer. “A complex portrait. . . . Donovan was given extraordinary access to Mr. Boies, and it paid off.” — The New York Sun “Incisive. . . . [An] invaluable depiction of a man as complicated and contradictory as he is gifted.” — New York Law Journal “Insightful. . . . A sure, skeptical account of Boies’s rise to the top of the legal realm.” — Publishers Weekly “Here a colorful life takes on some color [with Donovan’s] significant access to Boies and his inner circle.” — Los Angeles Times In a society ever more obsessed with legal drama, David Boies, the star of a thousand press conferences, stands head and shoulders above the rest. The most prominent trial lawyer in the United States, Boies was catapulted to international prominence when he represented Al Gore before the Supreme Court in Bush v. Gore, in the aftermath of the 2000 presidential election. But well before the word "chad" entered our lexicon, Boies had participated in a string of headline-making cases, representing the Justice Department against Microsoft, CBS against General Westmoreland, and Napster against the recording industry. Brash, reckless, and prideful, he is also charming, charismatic, unerringly articulate in the courtroom, and supremely comfortable in the public eye. He is the epitome of the celebrity attorney and a peerless practitioner of the art of law. Legal journalist Karen Donovan, herself a lawyer, had unprecedented access to Boies for nearly two years, accompanying him on his high-profile cases and recording the workings of his brilliant yet erratic mind. She gives us a scintillating chronicle of the legal dramas in which Boies has played a crucial role. And drawing on extensive interviews with his former colleagues, she provides insightful analyses of his strategies, his skills, his effectiveness, his penchant for personal renown, and his flaws. The story of a singularly gifted lawyer----his ambition, judgment, and sense of justice----v. Goliath is also an illuminating examination of a profession that, increasingly, confuses ideals and celebrity. Benjamin Lebert was born in Freiburg, Germany, in 1982. He is the author of Crazy , a best seller in Germany, which was published when he was sixteen years old. ONE “Once it’s over, it’s over.” 10:25 a.m., December 10, 2000, Westchester County Airport “Well, I have twenty-four hours,” David Boies said, finally settling into his seat in the Learjet that was idling on the tarmac. The statement begged for a question, and I obliged. “To do what?” I asked from the seat across from him. “To learn the constitutional law,” Boies replied matter-of-factly, his steely blue eyes staring ahead. On this morning, Day 33 of the postelection fight between Vice President Al Gore and George W. Bush, we were headed toward Washington, D.C., for the final court appointment that would decide who won the presidency in 2000. Each of the previous thirty-two days had presented a roller-coaster ride, swinging wildly often by the hour, for the opponents, and for the nation, which woke up the morning of November 7 to discover that the presidential race was too close to call. The state of Florida hung in the balance, with Gore pressing for recounts of the ballots and Bush opposing him at every turn. As Boies boarded the plane, I mentioned that I had caught part of his ABC appearance on This Week with Sam Donaldson and Cokie Roberts before leaving my Brooklyn apartment. He told me that was one of four Sunday shows he had taped, beginning at six-thirty that morning. Boies pulled out the draft of a legal brief that was due at four o’clock that afternoon at the U.S. Supreme Court; the case was scheduled for argument at eleven a.m. the next day. In all likelihood, the argument would be Gore’s last chance to gain the White House. By ten-thirty, we were airborne. As Boies began to mark up the faxed pages in his hand, I noted the time that the draft brief had arrived at his home in Armonk—9:59 a.m. He must have grabbed it just before leaving, along with the box of sourdough pretzels and blue duffel bag (which contained another box of pretzels in addition to a cheap blue suit, a blue striped shirt, and a blue