Adversarial Legalism

Like the first edition, it is a brilliant and thoughtful account of the way the legal system of the United States works, based on a rich and varied storehouse of research. -- Lawrence M. Friedman * Law & Social Inquiry *
A tour de force. It is an elegantly written, consistently insightful analysis and critique of the American emphasis on litigation and punitive sanctions in the policy and administrative process…Political elites, scholars, and college students alike may find much that is new and surprising in this book—and it is Kagan’s key purpose to surprise and stimulate fresh thinking about the range of possibilities for addressing policy problems. -- Charles R. Epp * Law and Society Review *
An important and insightful study of American legal culture…Both comprehensive and critical. A significant advantage of Kagan’s treatment is his commitment to a genuinely comparative analysis of American legalism…Whatever the merits of Kagan’s assessment, however, it is made possible by his careful attention to comparative materials and thus shows the promise of an authentic comparative legal methodology. In sum, this is an important, indeed an elegant, book. Highly recommended. -- J. E. Finn * Choice *
This is a wonderful piece of work, richly detailed and beautifully written. It is the best, sanest, and most comprehensive evaluation and critique of the American way of law that I have seen. Every serious scholar concerned with justice and efficiency, and every policymaker who is serious about improving the American legal order, should read this trenchant and exciting book. -- Lawrence Friedman, Stanford University