Absorbing discourse on a surprisingly evasive fundament.
A deep examination of the talionic code—“an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, measure for measure”—and its evolution and permutations as a foundation of the justice applied in modern societies.
Apart from being the perfect gift for Supreme Court nominees with no bench experience, Miller’s “meditation” on the talionic code is a rare entertainment. In an ambitious milieu of intellectual focus incorporating word origins, tantalizing glimpses of religious paradoxes and far-reaching historical perspectives wherein Norse sagas buttress Hebrew philosophy, the author (Law/Univ. of Michigan Law School; Faking It, 2003, etc.) explains how the ancients got down to evaluating offenses against honor and meting out repayment in kind long before the intricate labyrinth of a tort court. He also notes that anti-talionic arguments were regularly advanced and tolerated long before Jesus arrived to announce the merits of turning the other cheek. He is at his most engaging in pointing out how the “poetry and poetics of revenge” have become the aesthetics of the most popular and remembered myths. As in the author’s previous single-subject forays into human motivation (courage, humiliation, disgust), he sometimes chases the semantic rabbit down a seemingly bottomless hole, but his lurking suggestion that our litigious society has lost something by refining the talion to the point where money now routinely represents honor is intriguing.
Absorbing discourse on a surprisingly evasive fundament.Pub Date: Jan. 1, 2006
ISBN: 0-521-85680-9
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Cambridge Univ.
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2005
Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis...
Privately published by Strunk of Cornell in 1918 and revised by his student E. B. White in 1959, that "little book" is back again with more White updatings.
Stricter than, say, Bergen Evans or W3 ("disinterested" means impartial — period), Strunk is in the last analysis (whoops — "A bankrupt expression") a unique guide (which means "without like or equal").Pub Date: May 15, 1972
ISBN: 0205632645
Page Count: 105
Publisher: Macmillan
Review Posted Online: Oct. 28, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1972
This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)
Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996
ISBN: 0-15-100227-4
Page Count: 136
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
