Book Review

In "Preemption: A Knife That Cuts Both Ways" (W. W. Norton, 2006), Professor Alan M. Dershowitz examines America's increasing reliance on pre-emptive action to control destructive conduct, and discusses the implications for civil liberties, human rights, criminal justice, national security and foreign policy.

The evidence suggests that Dershowitz is not overstating the case. "Rights from Wrongs: A Secular Theory of the Origins of Rights" (Basic Books), published in November 2004, was his ninth book since the beginning of 2000--and his 19th since 1982, when Random House published his first popular book about law, "The Best Defense."

In "The Limits of International Law" (Oxford University Press, 2005), Professor Jack L. Goldsmith and Eric A. Posner '91 argue that international law is less powerful than many experts believe.

Children, according to Professor Charles Fried, are natural lawyers.

In his more than 20 years working and teaching in the field of international law, Professor David Kennedy '80 observed something he thought no one was talking about--the negative consequences of good intentions. Kennedy discusses his book on the topic, "The Dark Sides of Virtue: Reassessing International Humanitarianism," published by Princeton University Press this spring.

Professor Alan Dershowitz reveals how notable trials throughout history have helped shape the nation in "America on Trial: The Cases That Define Our History" (Warner Books, May 2004).

Most of us accept our experience of time as “natural,” when in fact it’s shaped by society and its laws, says Professor Todd Rakoff, author of what may be the first book on the topic.

Not many people have to specify that they don't think it's a good thing that cigarettes kill people. But W. Kip Viscusi mentions it nonetheless because his work--and its subject matter--can be oversimplified, he says. Not to mention vilified.

A hypothetical: A reporter is going to interview Professor Randall Kennedy. The reporter says to a group of coworkers: "That is one righteous nigger." A colleague complains. The reporter, whose intent was to compliment the professor, is fired for using grossly offensive language.

In his new book The Genesis of Justice (Warner Books, 2000), Professor Alan Dershowitz reflects on how stories in the first book of the Bible - replete with unpunished wrongdoing by flawed heroes and the actions and commands of an inscrutable God - set down the groundwork for later laws.

Professor Paul Weiler LL.M. '65 scores one for sports fans in his new book Leveling the Playing Field: How the Law Can Make Sports Better for Fans (Harvard University Press, 2000).

Most law school papers don't get glowing reviews from the New York Times Book Review. But most law school papers aren't like Mohsin Hamid's.

Despite today's booming economy, the number of middle-class families filing for bankruptcy in America is soaring, according to Professor Elizabeth Warren, Teresa Sullivan, and Jay Westbrook, coauthors of a new study, The Fragile Middle Class: Americans in Debt (Yale University Press, 2000).

In his new book, The Edges of the Field: Lessons on the Obligations of Ownership (Beacon Press, 2000), Professor Joseph Singer '81 explores the cultural, moral, religious, and legal traditions that define our understanding of property.

In their new book, excerpted below, Martha A. Field and Valerie A. Sanchez present their views of American legal doctrine and social policies that have influenced and still govern procreation and parenting by persons with retardation.

The Bulletin interviews Professor Gerald Frug about his new book which gives readers a sense of how the incentive system built into local government law has helped generate suburban sprawl.

The Bulletin interviews Elizabeth Bartholet about her recent book, which looks at how policies affect children victimized by abuse and neglect.