Law Review Article: The Secret History of the Bluebook

number of pages in each edition of The Bluebook
Fred R. Shapiro & Julie Graves Krishnaswami, The Secret History of the Bluebook, 100 Minn. L. Rev. 1563, 1598 n. 108 (2016).

 

Current law students confronting The Bluebook’s complexity may be surprised to know it was not always thus. The number of pages has increased in almost every edition from the 26-page first edition published in 1926 to the 582-page twentieth edition published in 2015.

A recent law review article describes the origins of The Bluebook; debunks two folklore accounts; explains why a book published at Harvard has an iconic blue cover (not crimson); reprints delightfully clear citation rules cowritten by a World War I veteran (German army) and a North Carolina textile magnate; and details the menu at a 1987 Harvard Law Review banquet. It’s worth a read.

Fred R. Shapiro & Julie Graves Krishnaswami, The Secret History of the Bluebook, 100 Minn. L. Rev. 1563 (2016).