Ethical Ambition: Living a Life of Meaning and Worth

Professor Bell shares with us deep personal insight into how people struggle to reconcile their ambition with their ethics. He relates his triumphs, and his failures. Most importantly, he teaches us how to think about how much more we will enjoy our life if we put our ethics first, and then shape our ambitions around those ethics. As a young attorney only 6 years out of law school, I appreciated the life time of wisdom in this book -- it was just what I needed. Highly recommended, but an excellent gift for a law student or young attorney.

Although I know of the author, I didn't read any of his works until this one. This one grabbed me because it explored the various things people do in exchange of comfort,personal freedom. Mr Bell pointed out that his mother went to the landlord with the rent money, and told them that if they wanted to see the money, they better fix the steps to their home which was in disrepair. The steps were fixed.Another example told of Bell in the early 60s, after suffering indignities on a trip to Mississippi, unwittingly went into a phone booth in the white section, and got pulled out of the booth by two police officers. But he feels that giving up something on the matter of principle, bought the greatest rewards in the end. And it is something that he(the author) experienced himself. Thought provoking and enlightening.

Professor Bell deserves kudos on his latest book,Ethical Ambition. I completed his book several weeeks ago and found it to be food for the soul and mind. I particularly enjoyed the life and faith lessons that can be learned from this book. Professor Bell's examples of making ethically moral choices even when they are unpopular were extraordinary. The several examples where he resigned due to his employer's lack of inclusiveness, or where he was denied his constitutional right to free association were memorable. Also, most noteworthy are the examples of the Israeli soldiers that risked court martial for the rights of other people; and the college dean that questioned why the college athletes were allowed to graduate with minimal skills while tutors and professors pass them along. Each one of his examples of human courage made me reflect and feel warm and peaceful inside. By reading this book, I, too, became reflective and tried to envision how this book had meaning in my life. I remembered the circumstance when I refused to join an organization because I was told not all races were included. I refused to join because the price to my morals and any notion that I have to right and wrong would have been irreparable. I think one of the main lessons to remember from this book is that we are all here together. We can not live our lives in a vacuum. We must make ethical life choices for the betterment of the human race. God bless Professor Bell and us too because we are able to read his writing that enrich our lives. Professor Bell is a wonderful person and exquisite writer with vision. I thoroughly enjoyed his thoughtful, knowledgeable and humanistic views of our life experiences. By reading this book, I can truly say I know the value of using ethics and morals to attain a successful relationship and career. This book is a great American story of perserverance, hard work and strong moral fiber that is the fabric of this great country we call America.

I was a student of Professor Bell's at law school many years ago. I have followed his career with interest since then, and have read a number of his marvelous and creative "law books" which explore issues of equality and human rights. Those books are very accessible to readers, whether they are familiar with legal issues or not."Ethical Ambition" goes well beyond anything Derrick Bell has ever written. This is his meditation on living a successful and ethical life. I read the book (my first reading) in two nights, and was mesmerized by his stories and insights. I found myself tearing up a sheet of paper and placing it between the pages that I wanted to come back to and further explore. I think the book is intended as a springboard to thought by the reader, as he or she explores his or her own life and the lives of others who have influenced us. It is intended to be shared with others as a "gift"--you want other people to have their own experiences with the book, which is a most effective surrogate for visiting with Professor Bell and the people around him. I have been asked to speak to a group of law students about the impact of the civil rights movement of the 1960s on the practice of law and the treatment of minority lawyers and clients. I feel that I am infinitely more capable of expressing my own ideas after spending time with this book, which helped to elucidate and clarify ideas that were not well formulated in my own mind.What more may one ask of a book or a teacher? In addition to what you may gain, this meditation on life's great themes is an easy and enjoyable read.Please take the trip with Professor Bell and his life companions--it will be a most worthwhile, honest and life-affirming journey, and should leave you with a better understanding of your own life and an appreciation for the lives of people around you

I've always been distrustful of people with great ambition because I have often found them to be self interestd. In this book, Derrick Bell speaks of another kind of ambition, one that places ethics above greed and self-agrandizement. He speaks to those who have made unpopular choices in their lives, on the basis of principle. I found this book tremendously helpful to me, because I read it just after facing a particularly trying time in my job where I had to "go against the flow" so to speak. Bell strongly suggests that in those acts we are really being true to ourselves and to the greater good. The book isn't long, but the message is powerful.