Book Review

In a new book, Professor Louis Kaplow '81 "steps back and considers the relationships among the parts." The book -- “The Theory of Taxation and Public Economics” (Princeton 2008) -- stands to secure him a place in the firmament of public economists and scholars in public finance.

The U.S. Constitution is 219 years old now, and the revolutionary system of government it created has survived and spread across the globe. No wonder many Americans consider it an almost sacred document, the final say on governmental powers and individual rights.

“Security in Paraguay: Analysis and Responses in Comparative Perspective” (Harvard University Press, 2008) is based on two years of research by the HLS International…

As a 3L at Yale Law School in the mid-1960s, Charles Donahue studied a series of decisions by Pope Alexander III (1159-1181) that became the basis of marriage law in Western Europe for the next three centuries. At the time, he didn’t realize how they would come to rule his own life.

Most judges, faced with the task of interpreting unclear statutes, want to do the right thing, says Harvard Law School Professor Einer Elhauge ’86. Unfortunately, it isn’t always easy.

Randall Kennedy knows what it’s like to be called a sellout. Throughout his 24-year career at Harvard Law School, Kennedy has developed a reputation as a professor who is not afraid to challenge orthodoxies—sometimes to the alarm of liberals and black Americans.

Professor Noah Feldman has done plenty of thinking about the intersection of religion and law, particularly in the Arab World.

In “Blasphemy: How the Religious Right Is Hijacking Our Declaration of Independence” (John Wiley & Sons, 2007), Professor Alan M. Dershowitz contends that fundamentalist Christian political activists are misusing the declaration to Christianize America.

Headlines on any given day underscore the increasing globalization of antitrust law and economics—for example, “Apple iTunes charged by EC with restrictive pricing practices.”

What does it mean to 'think like a lawyer' - in particular, an American lawyer? After wrestling with that question for years, Harvard Law Professors David Kennedy '80 and William W. Fisher III '82 have given us an anthology of the law review articles they believe yield the answer.

“Criminal Procedure Stories” (Foundation Press, 2006), edited by Professor Carol Steiker ’86, presents the stories behind the major Supreme Court rulings that have shaped criminal procedure.

International law professor David Kennedy was a conscientious objector during the Vietnam era, but during his early years teaching at Harvard Law School he realized it was time to rethink his position on the valid use of military force.

Janet Halley spent six years writing "Split Decisions: How and Why to Take a Break from Feminism" (Princeton University Press, 2006), a groundbreaking book examining the contradictions and limitations of feminism in the law.

In “Judging under Uncertainty: An Institutional Theory of Legal Interpretation” (Harvard University Press, 2006), Professor Adrian Vermeule ’93 takes up the question: How should judges interpret statutes and the Constitution?

Scholars have long been fascinated by the democracy of classical Athens and the ways it is mirrored in democratic governments of today. Athenian law, on the other hand, has received little attention, since no modern legal system is descended from it.

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.