2009 Survey of Books Related to the Law

This wonderful collection of reviews of leading recent books about law provides the occasion to ask a basic question: why should law professors write? There are many things that law professors could do with the time they spend writing books and law review articles. More time and attention could be paid to students and to instructional materials. More professors could do pro bono legal work of all sorts. In fact, if law professors wrote much less, teaching loads could increase, faculties could decrease in size, and tuition could decrease substantially.

Fahrenheit 451. By Ray Bradbury. 1953. New York: Del Rey Books. 2003 ed. Pp. 190. $6.99.

Liberty of Conscience: In Defense of America’s Tradition of Religious Equality. By Martha C. Nussbaum. New York: Basic Books. 2008. Pp. 406. $28.95.

Beyond Citizenship: American Identity After Globalization. By Peter J. Spiro. New York: Oxford University Press. 2008. Pp. 194. $29.95.

Privacy at Risk: The New Government Surveillance and the Fourth Amendment. By Christopher Slobogin. Chicago and London: The University of Chicago Press. 2007. Pp. xi, 306. $37.50.

The Failure of Corporate Law: Fundamental Flaws and Progressive Possibilities. By Kent Greenfield. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. 2006. Pp. ix, 288. $45.

Beyond (Straight and Gay) Marriage: Valuing All Families under the Law. By Nancy D. Polikoff. Boston: Beacon Press. 2008. Pp. 259. $24.95.

Media Concentration and Democracy: Why Ownership Matters. By C. Edwin Baker. New York: Cambridge University Press. 2007. Pp. xiii, 256. Cloth, $68; paper, $23.99.

Buying Social Justice: Equality, Government Procurement, and Legal Change. By Christopher McCrudden. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press. 2007. Pp. li, 680. Cloth, $225; paper, $95.

Supreme Neglect: How to Revive Constitutional Protection for Private Property. By Richard A. Epstein. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press. 2008. Pp. xiv, 169. $19.95.

Educating Lawyers: Preparation for the Profession of Law.By William M. Sullivan, Anne Colby, Judith Welsh Wegner, Lloyd Bond & Lee S. Shulman. San Francisco: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2007. Pp. x, 225. $40.