The Court TV Cradle-to-Grave Legal Survival Guide: A Complete Resource for Any Question You May Have About the Law - Softcover

This whopper of a book is a joint tour de force from the creators of Court TV and the editors of The American Lawyer magazine. This dream team demystifies the complexities of the American legal system by using an approach that is chatty, informative, and far from patronizing.

Hundreds of legal quandaries are discussed, from obtaining a Social Security number to breaking a lease to making a will. What distinguishes The Court TV Cradle-to-Grave Legal Survival Guide from more scholarly tomes is its down-to-earth language, and an emphasis on the human side of the law. The authors focus on the fictional life of the Goodfriend family--Grace and Gordon, and their four kids. The Goodfriends are touched by every conceivable aspect of the law--driving without insurance, sexual harassment, divorce, adoption, immigration. The authors examine the legal consequences of each scenario and explain what to do, what to expect, and what to say.

A no-nonsense table of contents splits the law into palatable pieces that are easy to digest--Driving, Buying and Selling a Home, Getting Married, Getting Divorced. A glossary of legal definitions, dozens of contact numbers, and a terrific analysis of the American Constitution will help readers navigate their way through and out of the legal jungle. --Naomi Gesinger

This new reference book is aptly named, for it covers an impressive range of legal issues, from obtaining a birth certificate to donating a body to medical research. The editors of Court TV and the American Lawyer invented the Goodfriend family who, sadly, are afflicted with more legal problems than O.J. Simpson. The Goodfriends and their acquaintances get into accidents, get married, are sexually harassed at work, have their tax returns audited, join cult religions, get pregnant out of wedlock, and picket adult bookstores-all before lunch. Their experiences and problems give us a clear, contemporary, and entertaining window on the legal system. Great care is taken to choose headings and formats that make the material accessible. The illustrative anecdotes about the Goodfriends are interspersed with boxes of text that feature a seminal court case on the issue in question or that elaborate on a particular point of law. Lists of state insurance departments, state bar associations, a glossary, and the U.S. Constitution are helpful inclusions. Surprisingly, the book lacks a bibliography, but it is otherwise rather well done. Libraries that own the revised edition of You and the Law (Publications International Ltd., 1993) or Joseph Mierzwa's The 21st Century Family Legal Guide (LJ 9/1/94) may not need this, but it is recommended for those looking for a family guide to the law.
Joan Pedzich, Harris Beach & Wilcox, Rochester, N.Y.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.