Throughout America's history, our laws have been a reflection of who we
are, of what we value, of who has control. They embody our society's
genetic code. In the masterful hands of the subject's greatest living
historian, the story of the evolution of our laws serves to lay bare the
deciding struggles over power and justice that have shaped this country
from its birth pangs to the present. Law in America is a supreme
example of the historian's art, its brevity a testament to the great
elegance and wit of its composition.