Download or read book Persons and Masks of the Law written by John T. Noonan and published by Univ of California Press. This book was released on 2002-05-29 with total page 236 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Noonan discusses how the concept of property, applied to a person, is a perfect mask since no trace of human identity remains. An auction of slaves in Virginia, the takeover of a banana plantation in Costa Rica, and an accident on the Long Island Railroad are the famous cases involving these four legal giants. The stories of the litigations at three different periods of our history provide a powerful analysis of American law. Breaking through the formalism in which jurisprudence is often enshrined, Noonan offers a compelling vision of law and a potent call for reform in the education and behavior of lawyers."--BOOK JACKET.