Bookshelf: A Series of Occasional Reviews of Books of Relevance and Interest

Adoption Law and Practice, Revised and Updated Chapter 11.
By Joan H. Hollinger

Professor Hollinger is one of the most respected experts in the United States on adoption law. Her grasp of rule, regulation, case law and nuance is unequalled. She has now revised and updated her essential manual Adoption Law and Practice, published by Matthew Bender. The new section includes a complete overview of the Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption, which will revolutionize international adoption both to and from the United States. It also contains vital information on the new USCIS regulations relating to internationally adopted children where the U.S. is either the sending or receiving country. It may be ordered http://www.lexisnexis.com/bookstore or by phone at 1-800-223-1940.

1-10-08

Adoption Nation: How the Adoption Revolution is Transforming America by Adam Pertman (Basic Books, 2001)

Adam Pertman, who is Executive Director of the Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute, has used his own experience as an adoptive parent as a platform to discuss the changes in the way Americans create families through adoption. No longer shrouded in secrecy, adoption today is open and visible- Pertman explains how this transition occurred. He also discusses the various stereotypes and misconceptions that still bedevil adoptive families. Adam Pertman delivered the keynote address at CAP's initial adoption law conference; Evan B. Donaldson co-sponsored two of CAP's adoption law conferences. 1-10-08

The Art of Political Murder: Who Killed the Bishop by Francisco Goldman (Grove Press, 2007)

This book recounts the murder of Bishop Juan Gerardi in April 1998 and the subsequent investigation into the crime. Bishop Gerardi was killed two days after the release of the path-breaking report of the atrocities committed during the Guatemalan Civil War. In an unprecedented action, Bishop Gerardi had presided over the formulation of the report, which attributed the vast majority of the deaths to the Guatemalan army. Goldman's account is not only a true crime mystery but provides a broad account of the recent, tragic history of Guatemala and provides needed background information for anyone interested in the workings of Guatemala's government. Goldman asserts that General Otto Perez Molina, the presidential candidate defeated in the run-off election of November 2007, was involved in this heinous act. 11/13/07

The Baby Business: How Money, Science, and Politics Drive the Commerce of Conception by Debora L. Spar (Harvard Business School Press, 2006)

Professor Spar, who teaches at the Harvard Business School, has done a path-breaking survey of, as she put it, "sixteen ways to have a baby." Why is it that artificial reproductive technology - test tube babies-occasions little regulation in some U.S. states but is a complete government monopoly in Britain? Surrogacy for profit is allowed in California, forbidden if compensated in New York and don't try to become a surrogate in New Jersey because it is never allowed. At the same time, adoption, which is yet another way to become a parent, is highly regulated and controlled everywhere. One of the strengths of this book is the way it compares and contrasts fields of law, ethics and commerce relating to family formation which are usually kept very discrete. 11-01-07

Nobody's Children: Abuse and Neglect, Foster Drift, and the Adoption Alternative by Elizabeth Bartholet (Beacon Press, 2000)

Professor Elizabeth Bartholet, one the nation's leading experts on family law, has written the seminal account of the legal, historical and cultural explanations of the U.S. foster care system. Her knowledge of family and adoption law and her years of experience give Professor Bartholet, who teaches at Harvard Law School, a unique ability to synthesize the various facets of the child-welfare system as we know it today. Professor Bartholet will deliver the key-note address to CAP's Fifth Annual Adoption Law Conference to be held on April 25, 2008.