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Law Man: My Story of Robbing Banks, Winning Supreme Court Cases, and Finding Redemption
Law Man is an improbable-but-true memoir of redemption -- the story of a young bank robber who became the greatest jailhouse lawyer in American history, and who changed not just his own life, but the lives of everyone around him.
Shon Hopwood was a good kid from a good Nebraskan family, a small-town basketball star whose parents had started a local church. Few who knew him...more
Shon Hopwood was a good kid from a good Nebraskan family, a small-town basketball star whose parents had started a local church. Few who knew him...more
Hardcover, 320 pages
Published
August 7th 2012
by Crown
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It's an impressive tale, no question about that. Shon has clearly done an incredible amount of extraordinary writing and legal research to succeed in getting his arguments to be heard by the Supreme Court -- all while spending time in a federal prison.
Law Man is a memoir of sorts reflecting on Shon Hopwood's time in federal prison for a string of bank robberies in middle-America. While the book reflects as a commentary on prison life, it is a very personal reflection. This is not a story about t...more
Law Man is a memoir of sorts reflecting on Shon Hopwood's time in federal prison for a string of bank robberies in middle-America. While the book reflects as a commentary on prison life, it is a very personal reflection. This is not a story about t...more
Law Man is second-year law student Shon Hopwood's memoir of his unusual path to law school, written with Dennis Burke.
Unlike the students who come to law school after 17 years of playing by the rules, kindergarten through college, Shon Hopwood made some significant mistakes. He dropped out of college after less than a year, drank so much while he was in the Navy that he landed in the hospital, had some low-level jobs, and had to get his father to help him with his debts.
And then he made some rea...more
Unlike the students who come to law school after 17 years of playing by the rules, kindergarten through college, Shon Hopwood made some significant mistakes. He dropped out of college after less than a year, drank so much while he was in the Navy that he landed in the hospital, had some low-level jobs, and had to get his father to help him with his debts.
And then he made some rea...more
Don’t let this three buzz rating stop you from reading this book. True, it’s not well written, as often happens when one tells one’s own story (even with the help of a ghost writer). Nevertheless it’s a fabulous tale. If you are a person who has veered off onto a dark path or if you’re the parent or spouse or grandparent or friend of one who has done so, this story will inspire you.
Shon Hopwood held up five banks and was sent to prison. Had he been a typical American prisoner, that would have b...more
Shon Hopwood held up five banks and was sent to prison. Had he been a typical American prisoner, that would have b...more
Engaging chronicle of how the author went from being a bank robber to serving 10 years in a federal prison to ending up in law school. In prison he had a job in the law library and taught himself enough law that he helped other prisoners with their legal petitions. Amazingly, he had two cases that went to the Supreme Court. He describes life inside the prison, how he got to the point of robbing banks, and how other people helped him turn himself around. Very inspiring story about second chances...more
This book is a memoir of Shon Hopwood who robbed five banks and while in federal prison ends up drafting legal briefs for fellow inmates. Hopwood writes two petitions for writ of certiorari to the Supreme Court of which get granted. It is a very rare occurrence that a petition for writ of certiorari written by an inmate gets granted but for Hopwood it happened. I found this to be a very interesting memoir and as a student studying to become a paralegal it was very inspiring. I could have done wi...more
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I really really liked this book. It was inspiring to read about Shon Hopwoods story. A guy that makes a wrong turn can end up coming out okay. He has inspired me, as an attorney, to consider doing criminal defense work. Sometimes good people do bad things and he is a great example of this. If we just helped those in the criminal system maybe there wouldn't be such a great number of repeat offenders. A must read-- not greatly written but great storyline. I can see this being made into a movie som...more
Excellent stuff here. I give it 4-1/2 stars. Well written and a pleasure to read. This is an autobiographical story about a young man who robs 5 banks and gets sentenced to 10-1/2 years in federal prison. It is a pretty detailed account of prison life. Hopwood tells us many times over why you don't want to go there. While in prison he works in the library and starts helping others research their cases. Everyone in prison wants to try to find a way to reduce their time there. And they have lots o...more
A well written and interesting memoir about a man who committed several bank robberies and turned his life around in prison and helping others during his sentence. You couldn't help but root for him to make it, whether it was working on a Supreme Court case from prison, with his girlfriend, or after prison.
Since Shon went to school with my children and I've known him since he was in Kindergarden, I really enjoyed reading about the life lessons he learned while growing up in the Midwest and how he was eventually able to turn his life around. He is now an inspiration instead of a criminal.
It is amazing what can happen when you have people in your life that never never never give up on you. Who see you thru God's eyes. How Shon went from a bank robber to helping other prisioners with legal work. The writing is conversational. It is not compelling but tells the story in his own words.
Amazing story, not great writing, but very engaging true tale of Shon Hopwood & his rise from federal prison to jailhouse lawyer to law school. Very memorable & great testament to the power of the human soul.
Awesome story of how Shon turned his life around. Loved the familiar references to our hometown and the good people and families that live there. Thoroughly enjoyed this book. Best wishes Shon & Annie!
Good book. Compelling. Redemption. I wish Mr. Hopswood well.
This was a really interesting read and fairly well-written.
A remarkable story, unevenly told.
A good story, credibly written.
Couldn't put this one down--gripping account of a prison inmate who turned his life around. Narration interspersed with anecdotes provides a fascinating glimpse of prison life. Hopwood's story is almost unbelievable.
Great inspirational story!!!
Easy read. Good book for the plane/airport. Nice story of redemption.
Interesting biography. Makes me hope that neither of our boys end up choosing the wrong path.
It was fun to read this guy's sense of humor. It was nice to see how he matured, learned his incredibly difficult life lesson and surpassed anyone's wildest expectations. Bravo.
May 21, 2013
Garren
marked it as to-read
May 09, 2013
Ann Zhurbin
marked it as to-read
May 06, 2013
Geetha Ganesh
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May 03, 2013
Jim Winkelman
is currently reading it
Apr 19, 2013
Lua
marked it as to-read
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“A computer search would have given me a list of pertinent cases, but without that I had to read everything. That is harder by far, but you end up learning a lot more. I was forced to remember cases because making copies of everything was too expensive. Keeping cases in your head is good, too, because cases are like puzzle pieces floating around in your mind, and sometimes, in moments of creativity, they fall into place and form a picture. If they were words on a screen that you could pull up anytime you wished, that phenomenon wouldn't happen as easily.”
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1 person liked it
“Before the corn comes up you can see a long way.”
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Mar 03, 2013 07:28am