John Paul Stevens: By the Book

這篇有意思。有空再加注解。

前最高法院大法官推薦法律讀物

枕邊書《紐約時報》2014年04月15日

前最高法院法官、《五位首席大法官：最高法院回憶錄》(Five Chiefs: A Supreme Court Memoir)以及最新的《六個修正案：我們如何以及為何必須修改憲法》(Six Amendments: How and Why We Should Change the Constitution)的作者對在芝加哥大學教他詩歌的諾曼·麥克萊恩(Norman Maclean)有感恩之情。

你的床頭柜上現在放着哪些書？

多麗絲·卡恩斯·古德溫(Doris Kearns Goodwin)的《最佳講壇：西奧多·羅斯福，威廉·霍華德·塔夫脫和新聞業的黃金時代》(The Bully Pulpit: Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, and the Golden Age of Journalism)。

古往今來所有小說家中你最喜歡的是哪一位？現在仍在寫作的小說家中你最喜歡的是哪一位？

所有的小說家中我最喜歡的是列夫·托爾斯泰(Leo Tolstoy)，在世的作家中我最喜歡的是愛德華·拉瑟弗德(Edward Rutherfurd)或魯斯·倫德爾(Ruth Rendell)。

對普通讀者，你最推薦的法律書籍是哪些？對法律專業的學生，你最推薦的又是哪些？

對普通讀者，我推薦肯恩·馬納斯特(Ken Manaster)的《美國法律體系和公民參與》(The American Legal System and Civic Engagement)；對法律專業的學生，我推薦利昂·格林(Leon Green)的《法官和陪審團》(Judge and Jury)。

如今法律書籍寫得最好的人是誰？

很可能是斯蒂芬·布雷耶(Stephen Breyer)和理乍得·波斯納(Richard Posner)。

在文學方面，哪些書籍讓你獲得了罪惡的快感？有沒有哪種體裁是你特別喜歡的？

那些關於威廉·莎士比亞(William Shakespeare)戲劇的真正作者的書籍。

你書架上的哪些書可能讓我們感到意外？

金·詹姆斯(King James)版本的《聖經》以及喬治斯·西姆農(Georges Simenon)的偵探小說。

最近讓你大笑的是哪本書？

戴夫·巴里(Dave Barry)關於去年新聞事件的報道。

上一本讓你大哭的書是什麼？

我不記得了。

上一本讓你憤怒的書是什麼？

吉爾伯特·金(Gilbert King)的《樹林中的魔鬼：瑟古德·馬歇爾，林地男孩和新美國的黎明》(Devil in the Grove: Thurgood Marshall, the Groveland Boys, and the Dawn of a New)。

你小時候喜歡讀書嗎？你當時最喜歡的書是什麼？

我的父母都很喜歡讀書，他們鼓勵我和兄弟們讀了很多書。我喜歡的有《維尼熊》(Winnie-the-Pooh)；路易莎·梅·阿爾科特(Louisa May Alcott)的《小男人》(Little Men)和《小婦人》(Little Women)；史蒂文森(Stevenson)的《金銀島》(Treasure Island)；菲力克斯·馮·盧克納伯爵(Count Felix von Luckner)講述自己「一戰」時突襲盟軍船隻的故事；以及幾十本關於湯姆·斯威夫特(Tom Swift)的書。

你學生時代對你影響力最大的書是什麼？

亞里士多德(Aristotle)的《詩學》(Poetics)。

誰是你的文學英雄？

威廉·莎士比亞戲劇的作者；我也特別喜歡A·柯南·道爾(A. Conan Doyle)。

哪些小說對你當作家的影響最大？有沒有哪本書激發了你的寫作慾望？

我不知道哪些小說可能激發了我的寫作慾望，但是我最感激的老師是在芝加哥大學教授詩歌課程的諾曼·麥克林(Norman Maclean)。

如果你能要求美國總統讀一本書，你會選哪本？

《六個修正案》。

假設你要舉辦一個文學宴會，你會邀請哪三位作家？

塞繆爾·克萊門斯(Samuel Clemens) 、查爾斯·狄更斯(Charles Dickens)和莎士比亞經典作品的作者。如果他們拒絕了，我會邀請維克多·雨果(Victor Hugo)、居伊·德·莫泊桑(Guy de Maupassant)和阿方斯·都德(Alphonse Daudet)。

你睡覺前喜歡讀什麼書？

歷史方面的書。

你旅行時讀哪種書？

來自最高法院的意見。

你讀過的最糟糕的書是什麼？

我沒讀完，不記得書名了。

哪些書你還沒讀過並為此感到難為情？

馬塞爾·普魯斯特(Marcel Proust)的《追憶似水年華》(Remembrance of Things Past)。

你接下來打算讀什麼？

《六個修正案》的書評。

本文最初發表於2014年4月6日。

翻譯：王相宜

John Paul Stevens: By the Book

By THE NEW YORK TIMESApril 15, 2014

The former Supreme Court justice and author of “Five Chiefs: A Supreme Court Memoir” and, most recently, “Six Amendments: How and Why We Should Change the Constitution,” feels indebted to Norman Maclean, who taught him poetry at the University of Chicago.

What books are currently on your night stand?

“The Bully Pulpit: Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, and the Golden Age of Journalism,” by Doris Kearns Goodwin.

Who is your favorite novelist of all time? And your favorite novelist writing today?

Leo Tolstoy for all time; Edward Rutherfurd or Ruth Rendell for living authors.

What books on the law would you most recommend to the general reader? And to a student of law?

Ken Manaster’s “The American Legal System and Civic Engagement” to the general reader; Leon Green’s “Judge and Jury” for law students.

Who are the best people writing about law today?

Probably Stephen Breyer and Richard Posner.

What are your literary guilty pleasures? Do you have a favorite genre?

Writings about the authorship of the plays attributed to William Shakespeare.

Which books might we be surprised to find on your bookshelves?

The King James edition of the Bible, and mysteries by Georges Simenon.

What was the last book to make you laugh?

Dave Barry’s report on last year’s news events.

The last book that made you cry?

I don’t remember.

The last book that made you furious?

“Devil in the Grove: Thurgood Marshall, the Groveland Boys, and the Dawn of a New America,” by Gilbert King.

What kind of reader were you as a child? And what were your favorite books?

Both of my parents loved books and encouraged my brothers and me to read a great deal. Among my favorites were: “Winnie-the-Pooh”; Louisa May Alcott’s “Little Men” and “Little Women”; Stevenson’s “Treasure Island”; Count Felix von Luckner’s account of his raids on Allied shipping during the First World War; and dozens of books about Tom Swift.

What were the most influential books you read as a student?

Aristotle’s “Poetics.”

Whom do you consider your literary heroes?

The author of the plays attributed to William Shakespeare; I am also a great fan of A. Conan Doyle.

Which novels have had the most impact on you as a writer? Is there a particular book that made you want to write?

I don’t know what novels may have motivated any of my writing, but the teacher to whom I am most indebted was Norman Maclean, who taught the course in poetry at the University of Chicago.

If you could require the president to read one book, what would it be?

“Six Amendments.”

You’re hosting a literary dinner party. Which three writers are invited?

Samuel Clemens, Charles Dickens and the author of the Shakespeare canon. If they decline, I would invite Victor Hugo, Guy de Maupassant and Alphonse Daudet.

What kinds of books do you like to read before you go to bed?

History.

And what kinds of books do you read when you travel?

Supreme Court opinions.

What’s the worst book you’ve ever read?

I didn’t finish it and don’t remember it.

What books are you embarrassed not to have read yet?

“Remembrance of Things Past,” by Marcel Proust.

What do you plan to read next?

Reviews of “Six Amendments.”