Tuesday, December 3, 2013

Reimagining To Kill a Mockingbird: Family, Community, and the Possibility of Equal Justice Under Law

Austin Sarat & Martha Merrill Umphrey (Amherst College). Reimagining To Kill a Mockingbird (University
of Massachusetts Press, 2013).

"Fifty years after the release of the film version of Harper Lee's acclaimed novel To Kill a Mockingbird, this collection of original essays takes a fresh look at a classic text through the interdisciplinary lens of law and humanities scholarship.  The readings peel back the film's visual representation of the many-layered social world of Maycomb, Alabama, offering sometimes counterintuitive insights through the prism of provocative contemporary theoretical and interpretive questions."

—Reimagining To Kill a Mockingbird book jacket



Wednesday, November 27, 2013

Captive Audience: The Telecom Industry and Monopoly Power in the New Gilded Age

Susan Crawford (Cardozo Law School). Captive Audience (Yale University Press, 2013).

"Crawford’s book is the most important volume to be released in the last few years that describes the sad — some might say embarrassing – state of the U.S. telecommunications market. Reasonable people can and do disagree about policy solutions, but the facts are not in dispute. [A] vivid and eye-opening description of what ails America’s cable and telecom market, … it should be required reading for anyone interested in tech policy."
—Sam Gustin, TIME

Wednesday, November 20, 2013

Animal Trials


Edward Payson Evans (University of Michigan). Animal Trials (Hesperus Press Limited, 2013; first published in 1906).

"Including trials in Germany, France, Switzerland, Great Britain, Scandinavia, and Russia dating back as far as 824, Animal Trials provides a fascinating insight into the bygone era, addressing important social issues and religious questions, which remain just as relevant today such as animal rights and capital punishment.  Payson Evans' wry attitude to the material only increases the peculiar nature of the work, making it a truly intriguing read."
—Animal Trials book jacket  

Monday, November 18, 2013

American Epic: Reading the Constitution

Garrett Epps (University of Baltimore School of Law). American Epic: Reading the Constitution (Oxford University Press, 2013). 

"Epps has written another masterpiece.  He takes us on a wondrous journey through the Constitution exploring every word of the remarkable document that so many venerate but few actually read.  Even the most devoted student of the Constitution will find much to learn.  American Epic is a revealing, thought-provoking, and wonderfully written examination of American's foundational text."
—Adam Winkler, UCLA School of Law

Thursday, November 14, 2013

Angel Island: Immigrant Gateway to America


Erika Lee (University of Minnesota) & Judy Yung (University of California). Angel Island: Immigrant Gateway to America (Oxford University Press, 2010).

"A place of heartrending history and breathtaking beauty, the Angel Island Immigration Station is a National Historic Landmark, and like Ellis Island, it is recognized as one of the most important sites where America’s immigration history was made. This fascinating history is ultimately about America itself and its complicated relationship to immigration, a story that continues today.”
—Angel Island book jacket