Technological revolutions have had an unquestionable, if still
debatable, impact on culture and society--perhaps none more so than the
written word. In the legal realm, the rise of literacy and print culture
made possible the governing of large empires, the memorializing of
private legal transactions, and the broad distribution of judicial
precedents and legislation. Yet each of these technologies has its
shadow side: written or printed texts easily become static and the
textual practices of the legal profession can frustrate ordinary
citizens, who may be bound by documents whose implications they scarcely
understand.
Parchment, Paper, Pixels offers an engaging exploration of the impact
of three technological revolutions on the law. Beginning with the
invention of writing, continuing with the mass production of identical
copies of legal texts brought about by the printing press, and ending
with a discussion of computers and the Internet, Peter M. Tiersma traces
the journey of contracts, wills, statutes, judicial opinions, and other
legal texts through the past and into the future.
Though the ultimate effects of modern technologies on our legal system
remain to be seen, Parchment, Paper, Pixels offers readers an
insightful guide as to how our shifting forms of technological literacy
have shaped and continue to shape the practice of law today.
