In Law Lit, acclaimed novelist and law professor Thane Rosenbaum delves into our cultural obsession with the law, exploring how the legal system has historically captivated the imagination of artists and the attention of readers—from Oedipus Rex to today’s courtroom thrillers.

This handsome volume, which TV anchor Jack Ford called “marvelously entertaining and enlightening,” collects the iconic and the unexpected, each piece reminding us of the passion for justice, the struggle to do right, and the belief in the power of language that lie at the heart of the law. Were you inspired by Atticus Finch’s closing remarks in To Kill a Mockingbird? Read them here, along with Portia’s poetic maneuverings in The Merchant of Venice, the famously heated cross-examination from A Few Good Men, and Bob Dylan’s controversial protest song “Hurricane.”

With dozens of selections, including fiction, essays, and even film scripts, Law Lit is a dazzling collection that transcends place and time, from ancient Greece and foggy London to the narrow streets of Prague and the spectacle of an Alabama courthouse, offering an enlightening look at how lives can be laid bare before the bench.