What makes a great judge? How are reputations forged? Why do some reputations endure, while others crumble? And how can we know whether a reputation is fairly deserved? In this ambitious book, Richard Posner confronts these questions in the case of Benjamin Cardozo. The result is both a revealing portrait of one of the most influential legal minds of our century and a model for a new kind of study--a balanced, objective, critical assessment of a judicial career. "The present compact and unflaggingly interesting volume ...is a full-bodied scholarly biography...It is illuminating in itself, and will serve as a significant contribution."--Paul A. Freund, New York Times Book Review