"Every once in a blue moon you read a book that leaves you absolutely breathless, reminding you of the bright, hidden worlds within our world. This is that book, a glimmering, supersonic journey into terra incognita, where Miles Harvey, acting as writer and sleuth, pursues America's greatest map thief. This is a riveting, hilarious book of twists and turns, unexpected confessions and deep human truths. You will not rest until the last page."--Michael Paterniti, author of Driving Mr. Albert:A Trip Across America with Einstein's BrainThe Island of Lost Maps is the story of a curious crime spree: the theft of scores of valuable centuries-old maps from some of the most prominent research libraries in the United States and Canada. The perpetrator was the Al Capone of cartography, a man with the unlikely name of Gilbert Bland, Jr., an enigmatic antiques dealer from south Florida whose cross-country slash-and-dash operation went virtually undetected until he was caught in December 1995.         This is also the spellbinding story of author Miles Harvey's quest to understand America's greatest map thief, a chameleon who changed careers and families without ever looking back. Gilbert Bland was a cipher, a blank slate--for Harvey, journalistic terra incognita. Filling in Bland's life was like filling in a map, and grew from an investigation into an intellectual adventure.        Harvey listens to the fury of the librarians from whom Bland stole. He introduces us to America's foremost map mogul, a millionaire maverick who predicted the boom in map collecting. He retraces Bland's life, from his run-ins with the law to his troubled service in Vietnam. And finally, with the aid of an FBI agent, Harvey discovers the Island of Lost Maps. The deeper Miles Harvey investigates, the more we are drawn into this fascinating subculture of collectors, experts, and enthusiasts, all of them gripped by an obsession both surreal and sublime. Capturing that passion in perfect pitch, The Island of Lost Maps is an intriguing story of exploration, craftsmanship, villainy, and the lure of the unknown.

Product Description: A gripping story of four remarkable young men—photographers, friends and rivals—who band together for protection in the final, violent days of white rule in South Africa.

The author looks back on his career as one of America's most ferocious defenders of the First Amendment, which began with his defense of Lenny Bruce and has earned him time in jail and other tribulations

Product Description: The eighth edition of Judicial Process in America gives a thorough overview of the American judiciary, paying particular attention to the relationship between the courts and the political environment in which they operate. While analyzing the courts at every level, the authors comprehensively cover judges, lawyers, litigants, and the powerful variables that influence judicial decision making, effectively linking the courts to public policy...read more

Examines racial profiling and the CARD--class, age, race, dress--system in stores and on the road, and provides advice on handling police and denial of civil rights.

The 'New Republic' legal affairs expert explores the threat to privacy posed by new technologies, cultural changes, and gaps in privacy law.

Product Description: One of the most respected (and ardent) opponents of the death penalty collects his highly acclaimed essays on capital punishment. (view table of contents, read Amazon.com's description)

Presents a collection of articles about intellectual property, covering such topics as plagarism, piracy, and copyright. (view table of contents)

Offers a shocking, inside look at the case of Mexican pop star Gloria Trevi, who, along with her manager Sergio Andrade and choreographer Maria Portillo, has been accused of rape, corruption of minors, and other scandalous crimes following claims that she lured young girls into sexual relationships with Andrade under the guise of providing musical eduction. (Current Affairs)

Product Description: Jury duty happens to everyone. When the call came to Graham Burnett, a young historian, he had a shock in store. A Trial by Jury is his startling account of how performing this familiar civic duty challenged him in ways he never thought possible and turned into one of the most consuming experiences of his life...read more

Product Description: This important volume debates an issue that mankind has always found troubling. Should religion—any religion—authorize the use of force by one people against another? If so, for what causes and in what ways? Scholars from the three Abrahamic traditions of Christianity, Islam and Judaism have contributed their views on a reality that is evident in conflicts endangering the world today...read more (view table of contents, read Amazon.com's description)

Product Description: Anarchy and Elegance has been called "the most creative book on law school in recent memory" (John Jay Osborne, author of The Paper Chase) and "A perceptive and insightful inside look at one of America's most influential institutions" (Charles A...read more

A passionate argument against capital punishment argues that the death penalty is morally wrong, an ineffective deterrent, and an instrument of a justice system exemplified by systematic legal error and widespread racial bias. Reprint. 17,500 first printing.

Product Description: Owing to social and religous factors over the decades, the Middle East exists in the 21st century as a combustible environment and breeding ground for terrorism. The author explores the forces at work in the region, focusing on Egypt, in an attempt to understand the power and turmoil of Islam...read more

Product Description: Up until the late sixties in Ireland, thousands of young children were sent to what were called industrial schools, financed by the Department of Education, and operated by various religious orders of the Catholic Church. Popular belief held that these schools were orphanages or detention centers, when in reality most of the children ended up at the schools because their parents were too poor to care for them...read more

Product Description: It is the twenty-second year of Nelson Mandela's imprisonment and a country is gripped with civil unrest. A black policeman is beaten to death and his body burned during a riot. Twenty-five people are convicted of his murder; fourteen are sentenced to death...read more

Product Description: Explodes many of the myths that surround drug use.Recreational drug users (other than those who take harmful substances like alcohol and tobacco) are regularly imprisoned. Nearly half a million drug offenders are incarcerated in US jails, more than the total number of prisoners in 1980 and more than the entire EU prison population...read more (view table of contents, read Amazon.com's description)

Product Description: Chomsky observes the 50th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights as a "Path to a Better World," while chronicling how far off the trail the United States is with respect to actual political practice and conduct. Analysing the contradictions of U...read more

A prominent civil lawyer describes his eye-opening introduction to criminal law and the American criminal justice system when he is asked by a friend and public defender to assist the defense of a young man who, at the age of fifteen, served as the unarmed lookout in a botched burglary attempt and who had been sentenced to forty years in prison. 12,500 first printing.

Mumia Abu-Jamal's defense attorney provides readers with a definitive and compelling account of his client's struggle for justice, as it describes the 1982 conviction of award-winning Philadelphia journalist Mumia Abu-Jamal for the killing of a police officer and the controversy that has rocked this death-row case. Reprint. (view table of contents)

Product Description: The January 2002 abduction and murder of "Wall Street Journal" reporter Daniel Pearl brought into sharp relief the dangers faced by journalists on assignment in areas of conflict. Scores of journalists are imprisoned every year because of what they have reported...read more

Two authors explore American attitudes about the death penalty, studying the people who carry out and suffer from capital punishment and identifying the psychological reasons why most Americans support it. Reprint. (view table of contents)

Product Description: America's first question to give more power to the individual, or to a central power? set the stage for an ongoing struggle between the Feds, the States and the Citizen. The balance of power is still shifting even in the 21st century...read more