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More copies of this ISBN:Guarding Life's Dark Secrets: Legal and Social Controls Over Reputation, Propriety, and Privacyby Lawrence Friedman
Synopses & ReviewsPublisher Comments:Guarding Life's Dark Secrets tells the story of an intriguing aspect of the social and legal culture in the United States, the construction and destruction of a network of doctrines designed to protect reputation. The strict and unbending rules of decency and propriety of the nineteenth century, especially concerning sexual behavior, paradoxically provided ways to protect and shield respectable men and women who deviated from the official norms. This "Victorian compromise," which created an important zone of privacy, first came under attack from moralists for its tolerance of sin. During the second half of the twentieth century, the old structure was largely dismantled by an increasingly permissive society. Rich with anecdotes, Friedman's account draws us into the present. The Supreme Court has interpreted the Constitution to include a right of privacy, which has given ordinary people increased freedom, especially in matters of sex, reproduction, and choice of intimate partners. The elite, however, no longer have the freedom they once had to violate decency rules with impunity. Although public figures may have lost some of their privacy rights, ordinary people have gained more privacy, greater leeway, and broader choices. These gains, however, are now under threat as technology transforms the modern world into a world of surveillance. Book News Annotation:Friedman (law, Stanford U.) examines the connection between law and
reputation and between law and propriety in the US, and how these
have changed roughly since the 19th century. He looks at the elements
that were part of the definition of propriety and good behavior, that
is made up a good reputation, and how the law acted to protect
respectable people and their reputations.
Annotation ©2008 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com) Review:"This is a wise, learned, and memorable text by one of the leading historians in America." James Whitman, Yale Law School Review:"As always, Friedman's wonderful eye for historical detail and his deep and wide research provide the reader an engaging and highly readable narrative ... The manuscript is a characteristically excellent piece of work by one of the very best practitioners of legal history." John Fabian Witt, Columbia Law School Review:"This is a wise, learned, and memorable text by one of the leading historians in America." James Whitman, Yale Law School"As always, Friedman's wonderful eye for historical detail and his deep and wide research provide the reader an engaging and highly readable narrative ... The manuscript is a characteristically excellent piece of work by one of the very best practitioners of legal history." John Fabian Witt, Columbia Law School"In his new book, Stanford legal historian Lawrence M. Friedman does not address these questions directly, but lays some useful groundwork for their contemplation by providing a social history of the legal remedies most commonly associated with protecting the privacy of personal information and behavior The book tells its main story clearly, entertainingly, and persuasively." James A Gardner, University at Buffalo Law School, State University of New York Synopsis:This book investigates the elements that have developed as part of the definition of propriety and good behavior, and how the law has acted to protect respectable people and their reputations. About the AuthorLawrence M. Friedman is Marion Rice Kirkwood Professor of Law at Stanford Law School. His books include Private Lives: Families, Individuals, and the Law (2005), American Law in the Twentieth Century (2004), and Legal Culture in the Age of Globalization (2003). What Our Readers Are SayingBe the first to add a comment for a chance to win!Product Details
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