"The path of the law" and its influence : the legacy of Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. /

This edited collection considers the enduring significance and impact of Holmes's enigmatic essay, The Path of the Law. Edited by Burton, the volume includes essays by Robert Gordon, David Luban, Thomas Grey, Sanford Levinson, Martha Nussbaum, and several other prominent scholars. The first essay, by Gordon, does an exceptionally good job of setting Holmes's essay in a larger intellectual environment without succumbing to the tendency to simply reify it. In keeping with Gordon's nuanced assessment, the other essays too are quick to insist on a critical understanding of different aspects of Holmes's work. Luban, for example, notes that some of the most basic tenets of The Path of the Law, such as the "bad man" thesis, "incorporate serious confusions." Catherine Pierce Wells offers a similar observation, noting that Holmes "was often obscure." In sum, this is a valuable contribution for anyone interested in the philosophy of law. Upper-division undergraduates, graduate students, and above. J. E. Finn Wesleyan University