Law Lit - by Thane Rosenbaum (Paperback)

About the Book

With dozens of selections from writers as diverse as Leo Tolstoy, Sophocles, and Mark Twain, this anthology of writings is a dazzling collection that offers an enlightening look at the legal system and its practitioners.

Book Synopsis

In Law Lit, acclaimed novelist and law professor Thane Rosenbaum delves into our cultural obsession with the law, exploring how the legal system has historically captivated the imagination of artists and the attention of readers--from Oedipus Rex to today's courtroom thrillers.

This handsome volume, which TV anchor Jack Ford called "marvelously entertaining and enlightening," collects the iconic and the unexpected, each piece reminding us of the passion for justice, the struggle to do right, and the belief in the power of language that lie at the heart of the law. Were you inspired by Atticus Finch's closing remarks in To Kill a Mockingbird? Read them here, along with Portia's poetic maneuverings in The Merchant of Venice, the famously heated cross-examination from A Few Good Men, and Bob Dylan's controversial protest song "Hurricane."

With dozens of selections, including fiction, essays, and even film scripts, Law Lit is a dazzling collection that transcends place and time, from ancient Greece and foggy London to the narrow streets of Prague and the spectacle of an Alabama courthouse, offering an enlightening look at how lives can be laid bare before the bench.

Review Quotes

"Law Lit is legit."
--LOS ANGELES TIMES

"Contains indelible and often delectable depictions of the
high drama of lawyering and the impact of the law."
--FLOYD ABRAMS, LEADING FIRST AMENDMENT LAWYER

"Why has it taken till 2007 for such a sampling to appear?"
--NEW YORK LAW JOURNAL

"[Rosenbaum] brings the imagination of a fiction writer to the project."
--LOS ANGELES TIMES

About the Author

Thane Rosenbaum is an essayist, a Fordham University law professor, and an award-winning novelist. His writing appears frequently in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and the Los Angeles Times. His book The Myth of Moral Justice was selected as one of the San Francisco Chronicle's Best Books of 2004. Rosenbaum directs the Forum on Law, Culture, & Society at Fordham Law School and lives in New York City.