Review of 'The Little Book of Plagiarism', by Richard A. Posner (New York, Pantheon Books, 2007, 116 pp., US$10.95)

'The Little Book of Plagiarism' is very small indeed, but, as the flysheet puts it, this is the work of "one of the top twenty legal thinkers in America ('Legal Affairs'), a distinguished jurist renowned for his adventuresome intellect and daring iconoclasm". Richard Posner is, if nothing else, profuse. He is also a highly respected intellectual, known for being frank, and even when contentious, he typically has some useful perspective to contribute to any debate. Given the source, my expectations were high for this book, but the content is a little disappointing: it reads like a narration of the dreamy musings that one may have on a long plane trip, albeit by a thoughtful person contemplating plagiarism. In short, 'The Little Book' makes many points that are key to a study on plagiarism, although they are not structured into any cohesive argument. Here, I shall first indicate the coverage of the book and follow with a short discussion of some of the points raised.