Books by Deborah L. Rhode

A broad, comprehensive foray into the debate about the legal crisis, written by one of the most respected and authoritative scholars of the legal profession.

On critical issues affecting women, most Americans deny that gender inequality is a serious problem or that it is one which they have a personal or political responsibility to address. Tracing this "no problem" problem, Rhode examines the most fundamental causes of women's disadvantages and the inadequacy of current public policy to combat them.

Despite declining prohibitions on sexual relationships, Americans are nearly unanimous in condemning marital infidelity. Deborah Rhode explores why. She exposes the harms that criminalizing adultery inflicts-including civil lawsuits, job termination, and loss of child custody-and makes a case for repealing laws against adultery and polygamy.

In Pursuit of Knowledge offers a unique portrait of the pursuit of status in academic life, combining meticulous research with elegant and entertaining prose.

This is the first book to provide a comprehensive investigation of gender and the law in the United States. Deborah Rhode describes legal developments over the last two centuries against a background of historical and sociological changes in women's activities and attitudes toward these new developments.