Cardozo.

In this review, Professor John C.P. Goldberg examines Professor Andrew L. K aufman's biography of Justice Cardozo. While Cardozo presents a rich factua l picture of its subject's life and legal career, Goldberg argues that it f ails to capture the essence of his jurisprudence or satisfactorily explain why Cardozo is considered a great judge. Contrary to the opinions of schola rs such as Kaufman and Judge Richard Posner, who each consider Cardozo a di fferent form of legal Realist, Goldberg argues that Cardozo was among the m ost accomplished anti-Realist judges of the twentieth century. Goldberg tak es issue with Kaufman's thesis that Cardozo merely balanced various competi ng factors in deciding cases-which does little to explain why Cardozo reach ed the decisions he did-and with Judge Posner Ss attribution of Cardozo's f ame to his literary prowess. Instead, Goldberg argues that Cardozo believed that the law contained meaningful concepts and that the job of the judge i s to apply these concepts. Cardozo's talent for conceptual analysis, his de tachment from the world, his acknowledgment of his own limitations, his jud icial humility, and his perceptiveness shaped his particular style of judgi ng-that of a pragmatic conceptualist. Ultimately, Goldberg argues that Card ozo's greatness can be explained by his ability to combine astute legal ana lysis with an awareness of social conditions and changing social norms.