A fundamental critique of American law and legal thought, this book consists of a series of essays written from three different perspectives that coalesce into a criticism of contemporary legal culture. It is of interest not only to the legal academics under attack in the book, but also to sociologists, historians, and social theorists.

They also argue that the failure to recognise the role that authorship must play in the production of legal thought plagues both the teaching and the practice of American law. Ranging from the institutional to the psychological and metaphysical deficiencies of the American legal system, the depth of criticism offered by "Against the Law" is unprecedented. In a departure from the nearly universal legitimating and reformist tendencies of American legal thought, this book will be of interest not only to the legal academics under attack in the book, but also to sociologists, historians, and social theorists. More particularly, it will engage all the American lawyers who suspect that there is something very wrong with the nature and direction of their profession, law students who anticipate becoming part of that profession, and those readers concerned with the status of the American legal system.