Walter Olson's Schools for Misrule: Legal Academia and an Overlawyered America
The latest book from Olson (The Excuse Factory) is part historical overview and part cutting-edge commentary examining corporate case studies and public and tort law with a sharp analysis of the academic system and the internal and external forces shaping its agenda. Law schools mould the future leaders of America, shaping the nation and influencing consensus. Recent legal scholars have infiltrated politics, journalism, and broadcasting, claiming greater authority and creating potentially serious social repercussions. The author explores perceived political bias at Harvard and Yale, their dependence on "left-tilting philanthropy," and the tendency of professors to permeate the curriculum with their own values. Additionally, Olson argues, the commercialization of American universities creates markets of intellectual property and a culture of one-upmanship. Often with tongue firmly in-cheek, Olson addresses the "American disease" of dubious injury claims and product liability lawsuits, the ever-spurious "recovered memory" litigation, and other legal precedents. This hard-hitting, witty account reveals the effect of law on the individual and the collective and astutely forecasts the future of law reform, in the academy, in politics, and across the globe.
Steven Brust's Tiassa
The 18th novel (after 2010's Iorich) in Brust's sprawling Dragaera fantasy series is a wonderful return to form, setting assassin hero Vlad Taltos in a contest of wits and wills against imperial guard captain Khaavren, the formidable protagonist of 1992's The Phoenix Guards. On the run from his former employers, the Jhereg, Vlad swings back into town for a surreptitious visit to his family and finds himself wanted all over again by Khaavren, who is chasing a magical silver statue of a tiassa. A cat-and-mouse game ensues, full of plots, counterplots, unlikely disguises, swordfights, and mistaken identities. Fans will love the full cast of favorite characters and the resolution of longstanding plots and mysteries, and like most of Brust's books, this witty, wry tale stands well alone and is very accessible to new readers.
J Brian Benestad's Church, State, and Society: An Introduction to Catholic Social Doctrine
How can the Catholic faith help not only Catholics, but all people, build a just and flourishing society?
The Catholic Church contributes first and foremost to the common good by forming the consciences of the faithful. Faith helps reason achieve a proper understanding of the common good and thereby guides what individuals need to do to live justly and harmoniously. In this book, J. Brian Benestad provides a detailed and accessible introduction to Catholic social doctrine (CSD), the Church's teachings concerning the human person, the family, society, political life, charity, justice, and social justice.
Church, State, and Society explains the nuanced understanding of human dignity and the common good found in the Catholic intellectual tradition. It makes the case that liberal-arts education is an essential part of the common good because it helps people understand their dignity and all that justice requires. The author shows the influence of ancient and modern political philosophy on CSD philosophy and examines St. Augustine, St. Thomas Aquinas, papal social encyclicals, Vatican Council II, and postconciliar magisterial teaching. Benestad highlights the teachings of popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI that the attainment of the common good depends on the practice of the virtues by citizens and leaders alike.
The book is divided into four parts. The first treats key themes of social life: the dignity of the human person, human rights, natural law, and the common good. Part two focuses on the three principal mediating institutions of civil society: the family, the Church, and the Catholic university. Part three considers the economy, work, poverty, immigration, and the environment, while part four focuses on the international community and just war principles. The conclusion discusses tension between CSD and liberal democracy.
