Choice Review
This book by the late Kermit Hall, a prominent legal historian, and Urofsky (emer., history, Virginia Commonwealth Univ.) is part of the "Landmark Law Cases and American Society" series. It is the first full-length treatment of the case since Anthony Lewis's Make No Law (CH, Dec'91, 29-2375), published nearly 20 years ago. Whereas Lewis focused on the significance of the case for the press and situated his work in the context of the Supreme Court's interpretation of the First Amendment, this work situates the case in the context of the civil rights movement, which the Court's decision in Brown v. Board of Education had helped create, as well as the political culture of the South. That culture involved a way of life among social elites that was hierarchical, deferential, and committed to the preservation of reputation defined as honor, property, and dignity. Focus on the latter revealed the dual threats facing city elites: on the one hand, the segregationist lower-class whites who dismissed notions of reputation; and on the other hand, the northern press that understood reputation narrowly as a species of property whose value was "determined in the market place of ideas." Well-written, careful study of this groundbreaking case. Summing Up: Recommended. General readers, undergraduate students, and professionals. P. J. Galie Canisius College
Library Journal Review
Many legal historians see the landmark 1964 case New York Times v. Sullivan-in which the Supreme Court ruled for the New York Times in its claim that criticism of the government and public officials is constitutionally protected-as the foundation of modern free press law. Before then, legal interpretations of the First Amendment had essentially left libel law up to state legislatures and courts. This book analyzes key events and people-the political ad at the center of the controversy, the various legal strategies, related legal actions and court decisions of the period, the history of libel law, and the legal landscape after Sullivan-all in the context of the Civil Rights Movement. Hall (former president, SUNY at Albany) and Urofsky (history, emeritus, Virginia Commonwealth Univ.) have written extensively on law and public policy. Other books on this case include Anthony Lewis's well-known Make No Law: The Sullivan Case and the First Amendment. VERDICT This is enlightening reading. The book interweaves libel and First Amendment law with southern political culture and the Civil Rights Movement, showing how the Alabama legal and political establishment tried to use the courts to silence the media and hobble civil rights. Highly recommended.-Mary Jane Brustman, Univ. at Albany Libs., NY (c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
