Book Review -- Immortality and the Law, by Ray Madoff

Download or read book Book Review -- Immortality and the Law, by Ray Madoff written by Bruce Berner and published by . This book was released on 2012 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This piece reviews the book, "Immortality and the Law (The Rising Power of the American Dead)" (Yale University Press, 2010), by Ray D. Madoff, Professor of Law at Boston College School of Law. The book examines three areas of American law dealing with one's power to maintain a form of control after death -- the distribution of property; the use of the personal body; and the interests in privacy, publicity, and royalties. Professor Madoff examines how American law differs in many surprising ways from the laws of most other countries. She particularly points out the trouble created by the concentration of wealth for long periods of time made possible by the repeal in many jurisdictions of the rule against perpetuities. The author's skillful use of interesting cases and examples brings exuberant life to what many would view as a “dead subject.”