The Genesis of Justice

Also Available as an eBook

Cain murders his brother-and walks
God gets angry-millions die in flood
Jacob robs brother-and gets away with it

Every weekend, in our synagogues and churches, our children are told stories from the Bible-stories of Abraham and Noah, Jacob and Joseph. But what are these stories really about? In this probing, fascinating, and entertaining book, America's leading lawyer looks at the Bible-and in particular at the Book of Genesis-as a tale of justice done, justice undone, and justice in the eyes of the beholder.

What if an angel hadn't stopped Abraham from sacrificing his son Isaac? What does Genesis seem to be telling us about taking revenge? Or even about capital punishment? Drawing on biblical criticism from throughout the ages and his own actual court battles, Dershowitz shines a brilliant legal light on the stories that comprise the foundation of our society. What he reveals is how our shared tradition has formed our attitude toward modern-day justice-and why we are all engaged in a never-ending quest to separate right from wrong.