On Trial: From Adam & Eve to O. J. Simpson

by George Anastaplo author of Abraham Lincoln: A Constitutional Biography

Overview

On Trial is an exegesis on legal reason, moral judgment, political life, and the events that give them meaning. Beginning with the serpent in the Garden of Eden and ending with O. J. Simpson, esteemed thinker George Anastaplo offers students, scholars, and informed readers an exploration of justice and the rule of law through well-known trials ancient and modern, real and fictional. Anastaplo starts with an interrogation of the good common sense on which most of us draw to make successful judgments. He examines the nurturing of this faculty against rationality, moral obligation, and the contingencies of history and culture. Using classic literary sources as well as real trial histories, On Trial puts legal and moral reason squarely beneath the critical lens.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780739107805
Publisher:	Lexington Books
Publication date:	06/07/2004
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	520
Product dimensions:	6.52(w) x 8.90(h) x 1.52(d)

About the Author

George Anastaplo, author of numerous books, teaches at the University of Chicago, Loyola University, and Dominican University.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 From Adam & Eve to Faustus Chapter 2 Clytemnestra, Electra, and Orestes Chapter 3 Jonah and the Ninevites Chapter 4 Oedipus, Creon, and Antigone Chapter 5 Abraham and Kierkegaard Chapter 6 Socrates of Athens Chapter 7 Jesus of Nazareth Chapter 8 Joan of Arc Chapter 9 Shylock and Shakespeare Chapter 10 Thomsa More, the King, and the Pope Chapter 11 John P. Altegeld and the Haymarketers Chapter 12 Notorious Defendants in Our Time Chapter 13 From Spiro T. Agnew to O. J. Simpson

What People are Saying About This

John Van Doren

In this volume, as in many others that he has written, George Anastaplo does what readers familiar with him take for granted, knowing how often he has done it and forgetting what a rare thing it is. Who else would discuss the trials of great figures in literature an history—as if they were, or had been, equally real, and subject them to a critical examination which assumes that the issues raised by them had not only been out common business as human beings to confront from the beginning, but still are? That is what Mr. Anastaplo does here, with a seriousness that challenges the intellect and imagination we all possess, and will not allow us to claim either the poet's license or the vanished past as reasons to escpe the task of unerstanding, the risk of judgment's call.

Chris Colmo

On Trial is a delight to read, at once surprising, challenging, and entertaining. The book reveals its true treasures to the reader who begins to ask, "Who or what is on trial here? Is it O.J.? Or Shylock? Or God?" Anastaplo's interrogation of the witnesses is as profound as it is playful and enchanting.

Editorial Reviews

On Trial is a delight to read, at once surprising, challenging, and entertaining. The book reveals its true treasures to the reader who begins to ask, "Who or what is on trial here? Is it O.J.? Or Shylock? Or God?" Anastaplo's interrogation of the witnesses is as profound as it is playful and enchanting.

Chris Colmo

This is a readable, scholarly work. Recommended.

CHOICE

On Trial is a delight to read, at once surprising, challenging, and entertaining. The book reveals its true treasures to the reader who begins to ask, "Who or what is on trial here? Is it O.J.? Or Shylock? Or God?" Anastaplo's interrogation of the witnesses is as profound as it is playful and enchanting.--Chris Colmo

On Trial invites and deserves, and will reward, careful reading.--John A. Murley

In this volume, as in many others that he has written, George Anastaplo does what readers familiar with him take for granted, knowing how often he has done it and forgetting what a rare thing it is. Who else would discuss the trials of great figures in literature an history--as if they were, or had been, equally real, and subject them to a critical examination which assumes that the issues raised by them had not only been out common business as human beings to confront from the beginning, but still are? That is what Mr. Anastaplo does here, with a seriousness that challenges the intellect and imagination we all possess, and will not allow us to claim either the poet's license or the vanished past as reasons to escpe the task of unerstanding, the risk of judgment's call.--John Van Doren

From the Publisher

This is a readable, scholarly work. Recommended.

Choice

On Trial invites and deserves, and will reward, careful reading.

John A. Murley

In this volume, as in many others that he has written, George Anastaplo does what readers familiar with him take for granted, knowing how often he has done it and forgetting what a rare thing it is. Who else would discuss the trials of great figures in literature an history—as if they were, or had been, equally real, and subject them to a critical examination which assumes that the issues raised by them had not only been out common business as human beings to confront from the beginning, but still are? That is what Mr. Anastaplo does here, with a seriousness that challenges the intellect and imagination we all possess, and will not allow us to claim either the poet's license or the vanished past as reasons to escpe the task of unerstanding, the risk of judgment's call.

John Van Doren

This is a readable, scholarly work. Recommended.

Choice Reviews