Defaming the Dead

Do the dead have rights? In a persuasive argument, Don Herzog makes the case that the deceased's interests should be protected This is a delightfully deceptive works that start out with a simple, seemingly arcane question-can you libel or slander the dead?-and develops it outward, tackling larger and larger implications, until it ends up straddling the borders between law, culture, philosophy, and the meaning of life. A full answer to this question requires legal scholar Don Herzog to consider what tort law is actually designed to protect, what differences death makes-and what differences it doesn't-and why we value what we value. Herzog is one of those rare scholarly writers who can make the most abstract argument compelling and entertaining.