| Author/Contributor(s): | Yoshino, Kenji |
| Publisher: | Ecco |
| Date: | 4/17/2012 |
| Binding: | Paperback |
| Condition: | NEW |
“Fascinating....Loaded with perceptive and provocative comments on Shakespeare’s plots, characters, and contemporary analogs.”
—Justice John Paul Stevens, Supreme Court of the United States
“Kenji Yoshino is the face and the voice of the new civil rights.”
—Barbara Ehrenreich, author of Nickled and Dimed
A Thousand Times More Fair is a highly inventive and provocative exploration of ethics and the law that uses the plays of William Shakespeare as a prism through which to view the nature of justice in our contemporary lives. Celebrated law professor and author Kenji Yoshino delves into ten of the most important works of the Immortal Bard of Avon, offering prescient and thought-provoking discussions of lawyers, property rights, vengeance (legal and otherwise), and restitution that have tremendous significance to the defining events of our times—from the O.J. Simpson trial to Abu Ghraib. Anyone fascinated by important legal and social issues—as well as fans of Shakespeare-centered bestsellers like Will in the World—will find A Thousand Times More Fair an exceptionally rewarding reading experience.
This incisive analysis of Shakespeare and the law explores:
- Revenge and the Rule of Law: How Titus Andronicus illuminates the bloody cycles of vengeance from ancient feuds to the modern war on terror.
- The Power of Legal Rhetoric: A sharp analysis of Portia in The Merchant of Venice and how a lawyer's persuasive skill can bend the law, with parallels to the Clinton scandal.
- Fact-Finding and Bias: Why the "ocular proof" of a handkerchief in Othello holds the same dangerous power as the bloody glove in the O.J. Simpson trial.
- The Burden of Sovereignty: A journey through the Henriad, showing how Prince Hal's transformation into Henry V offers a masterclass in establishing legitimate authority.
- Justice, Mercy, and Madness: How the tragedies of Measure for Measure and King Lear test the absolute limits of human law and divine justice.