Preet Bharara

Harvard Book Store welcomes former U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York PREET BHARARA for a discussion of his debut book, Doing Justice: A Prosecutor's Thoughts on Crime, Punishment, and the Rule of Law. He will be joined in conversation by Harvard professor MICHAEL SANDEL—author of What Money Can’t Buy: The Moral Limits of Markets.

Please Note

This event does not include a book signing. Books included with tickets will not be signed, and we are not taking requests or pre-orders for signed books. 

About Doing Justice

Preet Bharara has spent much of his life examining our legal system, pushing to make it better, and prosecuting those looking to subvert it. Bharara believes in our system and knows it must be protected, but to do so, we must also acknowledge and allow for flaws in the system and in human nature.

The book is divided into four sections: Inquiry, Accusation, Judgment and Punishment. He shows why each step of this process is crucial to the legal system, but he also shows how we all need to think about each stage of the process to achieve truth and justice in our daily lives.

Bharara uses anecdotes and case histories from his legal career—the successes as well as the failures—to illustrate the realities of the legal system, and the consequences of taking action (and in some cases, not taking action, which can be just as essential when trying to achieve a just result).

Much of what Bharara discusses is inspiring—it gives us hope that rational and objective fact-based thinking, combined with compassion, can truly lead us on a path toward truth and justice. Some of what he writes about will be controversial and cause much discussion. Ultimately, it is a thought-provoking, entertaining book about the need to find the humanity in our legal system—and in our society.

Praise

"The former federal prosecutor for the Southern District of New York skillfully explains how he approached his job, offering a mixture of guiding principles and compelling anecdotes. Unlike many lawyers who write books, Bharara refreshingly avoids jargon, striking a conversational tone and regularly employing analogies and metaphors that make his points easily understandable. An engaging tour from beginning to end." —Kirkus Reviews, starred review

“[Preet] has somehow managed to be incredibly smart, principled, independent and hilarious all at the same time” —James Comey

"Like the best lawyers (and writers), Preet Bharara tells a good war story. But Doing Justice is a great deal more—a vivid memoir of a critical job, a primer on the toughest questions of prosecutorial ethics, and a reminder of the drama inherent in life in the courtroom arena." —Jeffrey Toobin, author of American Heiress: The Kidnapping, Crimes and Trial of Patty Hearst