NEW YORK, NY, December 22, 2003— Two books written by New York Law School professors were recently recognized as extraordinary contributions in their fields.

Professor Frank Munger’s book Rights of Inclusion: Law and Identity in the Life Stories of American Disabilities, (University of Chicago Press 2003, with David M. Engel of SUNY Buffalo) was one of 12 books selected from 392 nominations to receive the 19th Annual Gustavus Myers Outstanding Book Award. The awards were presented by the Gustavus Myers Center for the Study of Bigotry and Human Rights at Simmons College in Boston on December 11. 

In their book, Munger and Engel look at the passage and implementation of the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act and how rights get extended to those who are the subject of new civil rights legislation--in this case, persons with learning disabilities and those using a wheelchair. They look beyond employment rights, to narratives of 60 people's daily experiences.

Adjunct Professor Richard B. Bernstein’s new book Thomas Jefferson (Oxford University Press 2003) is “the best short biography of Jefferson ever written” declared Professor Gordon S. Wood in a review published in The New York Times Book Review on December 14.  Wood, who holds named chairs at Brown and Northwestern universities in law and history, calls the book, “authoritative, judicious, clearly written and remarkably complete for a text that covers fewer than 200 pages.” This is the latest of the many laudatory reviews of the book that have appeared in national media outlets, including The Christian Science Monitor.

ABOUT NEW YORK LAW SCHOOL
Located near the centers of law, government, and finance in New York City, New York Law School is one of the oldest independent law schools in the United States. Its faculty of noted and prolific scholars has built the school’s curricular strength in the areas of tax law, labor and employment law, civil and human rights law, media and information law, urban legal studies, international and comparative law, and interdisciplinary fields such as legal history and legal ethics. The Law School enrolls 1,400 students and has more than 11,000 graduates.

Contact: Jim Hellegaard, Director of Communications, Office of Public Affairs212.431.2191, jhellegaard@nyls.edu 

# # #