The ANU Law Unrequired Reading List is a curated list of book, films, speeches and other creative works that fall outside the typical lists of required reading that law students will encounter during their studies. 

This list is an expression of our College’s values and a reminder that a well-rounded education does not come solely from prescribed texts and journals. Reading for pleasure, and broadening one’s world view, can be a wonderful supplement to the benefits that an education and a career in the law provides.

I have wanted to develop this list for many years, since I encountered The Texas List of Unrequired Reading, which was released by the College of Liberal Arts at the University of Texas in 1987.

Our own list draws upon an extensive list of recommendations that colleagues have sent me over the years and I anticipate that the list will continue to evolve. This inaugural edition of the ANU Law Unrequired Reading List was curated by Associate Professor Heather Roberts, Professor Desmond Manderson and myself.

There are at least five years of reading, viewing and pondering, but just as your legal education doesn’t end with graduation, if you don’t make your way through the list before your time at the Australian National University comes to an end, I encourage you to return to it and let it influence the kind of professional you become.

Professor Stephen Bottomley FAAL
ANU College of Law

Click on each of the 'rooms' to view the materials in each category of the Unrequired Reading List.