New Titles in the Chastek Library

"An examination of the ways in which grievance has come to define our current culture and politics, on both the right and left. More and more Americans are convinced that they're losing because somebody else is winning. More and more tally their slights, measure their misfortune, and assign particular people responsibility for it. The blame game has become very popular. Grievance needn't be bad. But what happens when people take their grievances to lengths that they didn't before?" -- Publisher site.

"Delving into the deeply enigmatic nature of Artificial Intelligence (AI), 'AI: Unpredictable, Unexplainable, Uncontrollable' explores the various reasons why the field is so challenging. Written by one of the founders of the field of AI safety, this book addresses some of the most fascinating questions facing humanity, including the nature of Intelligence, Consciousness, Values and Knowledge. Moving from a broad introduction to the core problems, such as the unpredictability of AI outcomes or the difficulty in explaining AI decisions, this book arrives at more complex questions of ownership and control, conducting an in-depth analysis of potential hazards and unintentional consequences." -- Publisher site.

"In the age of tenure-denial lawsuits and free speech battles, colleges and universities face more intense legal pressures than ever before. Louis Guard and Joyce Jacobsen, two longtime higher education leaders, provide both a comprehensive overview and practical guidance regarding current campus legal issues." -- Publisher site.

"The book explores the substantive reasons that contribute to a picture of what's at stake for individuals when we use statistical algorithms to make decisions about how to treat others, and makes robust policy recommendations about the scope and nature of human-algorithm interaction. Artificial Justice is a compelling and accessible text, which offers a great deal to a wide and interdisciplinary audience of academics, students, and those otherwise interested in learning about algorithmic justice." -- Publisher site.

"In this exciting new graphic novel, economist Bryan Caplan examines how changes to housing regulation can lead us to a vastly better world. Why are housing prices in America so unbelievably high, especially in the country's most desirable locations? The superficial answer is "supply and demand," but the deep answer--the reason supply is so low--is draconian housing regulation. Combining visually stunning graphics and careful interdisciplinary research, Build, Baby, Build, takes readers on a journey through what is wrong with the housing market--and what we can do about it."

"For nearly forty years, Bright led the Southern Center for Human Rights, a nonprofit that provided legal aid to incarcerated people and worked to improve conditions within the justice system. He argued four capital cases before the US Supreme Court--and won each one, despite facing an increasingly hostile bench. With each victory, he brought to light how the law itself had become corrupted by the country's thirst for severe punishment, exposing prosecutorial misconduct, continuing racial inequality, inadequate safeguards for people with intellectual disabilities, and the shameful quality of legal representation for the poor. Organized around these four major Supreme Court cases, each narrated in vivid and dramatic detail, Tsai's essential account explores the racism built into the criminal justice system and the incredible advancements one lawyer and his committed allies made for equal rights. An electrifying work of legal history, Demand the Impossible reveals how change can be won in even the most challenging times and how seemingly small victories can go on to have outsized effects." -- Book jacket.

"Digital mediation is here to stay, but how do mediators, advisers and clients achieve the same results from digital mediations as they do from face to face mediations? Do new skills and mindsets need to be learnt? Can you build rapport online? Can you read emotions? How do you market online? How do you decide whether it's the right choice for your dispute? How does digital mediation fit into the world of the Digital Justice System and mandatory mediation? Answering these questions and many more, this is the only book to focus on mediation as opposed to other means of Online Dispute Resolution such as arbitration." -- Publisher site.

"The Standards provide courts and legal practitioners with best practices to improve the interaction of youth in the juvenile justice system with other child-serving systems such as education, child welfare and mental health. Those systems refer youth to the juvenile justice system, serve youth while they are in the juvenile justice system and receive youth who are re-entering society from that system." -- Publisher site.

"For the past two thousand years, Christian tradition, scholarship, and pop culture have credited the authorship of the New Testament to a select group of men: Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, and Paul. But hidden behind these named and sainted individuals are a cluster of unnamed, enslaved coauthors and collaborators. These essential workers were responsible for producing the earliest manuscripts of the New Testament: making the parchment on which the texts were written, taking dictation, and refining the words of the apostles. And as the Christian message grew in influence, it was enslaved missionaries who undertook the arduous journey across the Mediterranean and along dusty roads to move Christianity to Rome, Spain, and North Africa--and into the pages of history. The impact of these enslaved contributors on the spread of Christianity, the development of foundational Christian concepts, and the making of the Bible was enormous, yet their role has been almost entirely overlooked until now." -- Publisher site.

"This book places the current attacks on the right of free speech in their proper historical, legal, and political context. The United States was born in an age of rage and for 250 years we have periodically lost sight of the value of free expression. The history of the struggle for free speech is the story of extraordinary people--nonconformists who refuse to yield to abusive authority--and here is a mosaic of vivid characters and controversies. Jonathan Turley takes readers through the figures and failures that have shaped us and then shows the unique dangers of our current moment. The alliance of academic, media, and corporate interests with the government's traditional wish to control speech has put us on an almost irresistible path toward censorship. Turley reminds us that we remain a nation grappling with the implications of free expression and with the limits of our tolerance for the speech of others." -- Publisher site.

"Introduction to Generative AI guides you through benefits, risks, and limitations of Generative AI technology. You'll discover how AI models learn and think, explore best practices for creating text and graphics, and consider the impact of AI on society, the economy, and the law. Along the way, you'll practice strategies for getting accurate responses and even understand how to handle misuse and security threats." -- Publisher site.

"Focusing primarily on the legal principles contained in the growing body of international investment agreements, this book covers the core concepts of the discipline, with attention given to their relation to each other and to the manner which they have developed through arbitration case law. The context of each legal principle is explored, along with a consideration of some of the major debates and emerging criticisms. Avoiding extensive case extracts, this book adopts an engaging and succinct narrative style which allows readers to advance their understanding of the topic while examining the legal principles with academic rigor and discerning commentary." -- Publisher site.

"How identity politics failed one particular identity. Jews Don't Count is a book for people who consider themselves on the right side of history. People fighting the good fight against homophobia, disablism, transphobia and, particularly, racism. People, possibly, like you. It is the comedian and writer David Baddiel's contention that one type of racism has been left out of this fight. In his unique combination of close reasoning, polemic, personal experience and jokes, Baddiel argues that those who think of themselves as on the right side of history have often ignored the history of anti-Semitism. He outlines why and how, in a time of intensely heightened awareness of minorities, Jews don't count as a real minority: and why they should." -- Publisher site.

"This collection of 80 dramatic firsthand writings by Frederick Douglass, Ida B. Wells, and others brings to life the struggle for racial justice from the Civil War to World War. A vital resource for the teaching of the history of race in America that traces the ascendancy of white supremacy after Reconstruction--and the outspoken resistance to it led by Black Americans and their allies. W.E.B. Du Bois famously identified "the problem of the color-line" as the defining issue in American life. The powerful writings gathered here reveal the many ways Americans, Black and white, fought against white supremacist efforts to police the color line, envisioning a better America in the face of disenfranchisement, segregation, and widespread lynching, mob violence, and police brutality." -- Publisher site.

"Law and the Living Colorado River asserts that the so-called Law of the River-the vast assemblage of interstate compacts, international treaties, federal and state statutes, regulations, contracts, and other legal documents governing use and management of the Colorado River-ignores the needs of the river as a nested system of aquatic and aquatic-dependent ecosystems. Although society now recognizes and appreciates the natural values of the Colorado River, the Law of the River remains fixed in service of human economies like irrigation and hydropower. Robert W. Adler contends that the law must respond to changing values that prioritize natural systems alongside human ones. He proposes acknowledging the legal rights of the river itself, following the recent movement to recognize rights of nature in other ecosystems around the world. Recognizing that U.S. law has significant barriers to that proposal, however, Adler borrows from aspects of international water law to propose as a shorter-term strategy amendments to the Colorado River Compact that would enhance protection of the river's environmental needs and values. Adler delivered this lecture on March 17, 2022, at the 27th annual symposium of the Wallace Stegner Center for Land, Resources and the Environment, jointly sponsored by the Wallace Stegner Center and the Water & Tribes Initiative, Colorado River Basin." -- Publisher site.

"This book provides practical recommendations to enhance leadership style and develop the right climate and team structure and processes so that a culture of creativity, collaboration, and innovation can thrive. It also unpacks why collaboration and innovation efforts in professional services so often do not succeed." -- Publisher site.

"Since the 1960s, school rules and regulations concerning apparel and hair have been the subject of litigation in the federal courts. Most of this litigation involves students’ assertions that their clothing and hairstyle choices are forms of expression that are protected by the First Amendment. In some cases, students have argued that school dress and grooming codes discriminate against them based on their gender or their racial or ethnic identity. I Got Dress Coded explores court cases, policies, and research on student appearance and dress codes. The impact of Constitutional protections of student speech on sexual orientation, politics, weapons, drugs, and alcohol are explored as well as restrictions targeting female students and prohibitions on student appearance that reflects a student’s racial and ethnic heritage." -- Publisher site.

"In Morning After the Revolution, Bowles gives readers a front-row seat to the absurd drama of a political movement gone mad. With irreverent accounts of attending a multiday course on 'The Toxic Trends of Whiteness,' following the social justice activists who run 'Abolitionist Entertainment LLC,' and trying to please the New York Times’s 'disinformation czar,' she deftly exposes the more comic excesses of a movement that went from a sideshow to the very center of American life." -- Publisher site.

"This book is a clear guide for reasonable Americans on sex and gender—something everyone wants to understand but is terrified to discuss. Coleman shows that the science is settled, but equally that there is a middle ground where common sense reigns and we can support transgender people without denying the facts of human biology. She livens her narrative with a sequence of portraits of exceptional human beings from legal pioneers like Myra Bradwell and Ketanji Brown Jackson to champion athletes like Caster Semenya and Cate Campbell to civil rights giants like Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Pauli Murray. Above all, Coleman reminds us that sex not only exists, but is also good—and she shows how we can get both sex and gender right for society." -- Publisher site.

"The Politics Of Righteousness is the first disciplined exploration of the backgrounds and belief systems of the Christian patriots. For the reader who knows these groups only from a selection of inflammatory quotes and violent deeds, James Aho explains the historical and scriptural analysis that underlies their world view. Using information gathered from over two hundred interviews and direct observation of patriot gatherings, Aho replaces the stereotype of solitary crazies from the fringes of society with more complex and disturbing realities."

"Today when politicians and scholars speak of 'states' rights', they are invariably referring to conservative efforts to curtail the advance of civil rights policies, which are associated with the federal government thanks to the work of the New Deal, Great Society, and Warren Court. Sean Beienburg shows that this was not always the case, and that there was once a time when federalism was associated with progressive, rather than conservative, politics. In Progressive Federalism, Beienburg tells an alternative story of federalism by exploring the states' efforts in the years before the New Deal to shape constitutional discourse to ensure that a protective welfare and regulatory governmental regime would be built in the states, rather than the national government. These state-level actors not only aggressively participated in constitutional politics and interpretation, but they specifically sought to create an alternative model of state-building that would pair a robust state power on behalf of the public good with a traditionally limited national government. Current politics generally collapses policy and constitutional views, such that being progressive or conservative on one means that one is progressive or conservative on the other, but Beienburg shows that this was not always true, and indeed many of those most devoted to progressive policy views were deeply committed to a conservative constitutionalism." -- Publisher site.

"In this brisk, engaging exploration of 19th-century radical reformer and abolitionist Wendell Phillips, Peter Charles Hoffer makes the case that Phillips deserves credit as the nation’s first public interest lawyer, someone who led the antebellum crusade against slavery and championed First Amendment rights and equality for all Americans, including Black people and women. Democratic positivist approaches like his have continued to be used by lawyers to influence social reforms ranging from the civil rights movement of the 1960s to advocacy for unhoused people to abolishing America’s carceral state, and Hoffer persuasively argues that Phillips’s influence has been long ranging and is still recognizable in contemporary America’s political landscape." -- Publisher site.

"The relatively new judicial philosophy of textualism dominates the Supreme Court. Textualists claim that the right way to interpret the Constitution and statutes is to read the text carefully and examine the language as it was understood at the time the documents were written. This, however, is not Justice Breyer’s philosophy nor has it been the traditional way to interpret the Constitution since the time of Chief Justice John Marshall. Justice Breyer recalls Marshall’s exhortation that the Constitution must be a workable set of principles to be interpreted by subsequent generations. Most important in interpreting law, says Breyer, is to understand the purposes of statutes as well as the consequences of deciding a case one way or another. He illustrates these principles by examining some of the most important cases in the nation’s history, among them the Dobbs and Bruen decisions from 2022 that he argues were wrongly decided and have led to harmful results." -- Publisher site.

"Traditionally, the university or college is thought to be the ultimate location for the discovery and sharing of knowledge. After all, on these campuses are some of the great minds across all fields, as well as students who are not only eager to learn, but who often contribute to our shared wisdom. For those ideals to be achieved, however, ideas require access to some kind of virtual marketplace from which people can sample and consider them, discuss and debate them. Restricting the expression of those ideas for whatever reason is the enemy of not only this process, but also of knowledge discovery. Speech freedom on our college and university campuses, like everywhere else, is fragile. There are those who wish to suppress it, more often than not when the words express ideas, opinions, and even facts that conflict with their beliefs. Why is this effort, so completely at odds with the foundational values of this country, made? This topic explored in Speech Freedom on Campus: Past, Present and Future is multi-layered, and its analysis is best accomplished through multiple perspectives. Joseph Russomanno’s edited collection does precisely that, utilizing 10 different scholars to examine various aspects and issues related to speech freedom on campus." -- Publisher site.

"Kasper and Kozma demonstrate how the adoption of Mill's version of free speech began with Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. more than a century ago and expanded over time to become the prevailing position of the Court today. The authors argue that this embrace of Mill's rationale has led to an unmistakable reorientation in the Court's understanding of free expression jurisprudence. The Supreme Court and the Philosopher is the first book to comprehensively explore how the political philosophy of Mill has influenced the highest court in the land. In targeting the underlying philosophical reasons that explain why the modern Supreme Court renders its First Amendment decisions, this book is particularly timely, as the issues of censorship and freedom of expression are debated in the public square today.

"In this compelling and balanced book, Mark Coeckelbergh reveals the key risks posed by AI for democracy. He argues that AI, as currently used and developed, undermines fundamental principles on which liberal democracies are founded, such as freedom and equality. How can we make democracy more resilient in the face of AI? And, more positively, what can AI do for democracy? Coeckelbergh advocates not only for more democratic technologies, but also for new political institutions and a renewal of education to ensure that AI promotes, rather than hinders, the common good for the twenty-first century. Why AI Undermines Democracy and What to Do About It is illuminating reading for anyone who is concerned about the fate of democracy." -- Publisher site.

"In May 2021, amid another conflict with Iran-backed Hamas, Israel took a beating both in the mainstream press and social media. Notwithstanding the rocket fire aimed at its citizens, the Jewish state was portrayed as the oppressor and the Hamas government in Gaza as the oppressed. While Israel has always been subject to excessive scrutiny, this time was different. What had changed in the ideological environment? A veteran leader of Jewish advocacy organizations and a self-described liberal who has broken with the far left over the adoption of woke ideology, David L. Bernstein traces the growth of woke ideology in his life and career from a remote academic study to an international post-colonialist movement, then a faddish campus ideology, morphing into corporate diversity programs to a dominant ideology in mainstream institutions, including many Jewish organizations. Bernstein shows how core ideological tenets--such as privilege, equity, whiteness, and the oppressor/oppressed binary--can be and are weaponized against Jews. He warns that, unabated, the ideology will disenfranchise the American Jewish community and sap Jewish pride. He puts forward a strategy for restoring liberal values and countering political extremism and antisemitism, focusing on rebuilding the political center." -- Publisher site.