Law and literature : a misunderstood relation /

Posner, now a federal judge and for some years a major authority in the field of law and economics (see his Economic Analysis of Law, CH, Jun '74; 3rd ed., 1986 and his Economics of Justice, CH, Dec '81), has joined the discussions in the emerging new field of law and literature. His book is especially valuable because he categorizes and presents an overview of the various efforts in this field. In literature and law, legal insights are brought to bear on works of literature (e.g., new interpretations of works with a legal dimension, such as Billy Budd or The Trial), and theories of interpretation developed in philosophic and literary contexts are applied to legal materials and activities. Posner presents a comprehensive statement and evaluation of currents of work in both directions. He is much less enthusiastic about law and literature than about law and economics because he finds the differences between law and literature to be so great that lawyers (or special legal insights) can shed little real light on literature, and literary theories of interpretation misfire in the legal context. Not all his arguments are persuasive, but as a synthetic overview and assessment by a well-read and intelligent man, this work is a valuable addition for most libraries. -C. H. Zuckert, Carleton College