Peter Charles Hoffer is Distinguished Research Professor of History at the University of Georgia and coeditor of the prizewinning series Landmark Law Cases and American Society. His nearly dozen books include The Supreme Court: An Essential History, The Historians' Paradox: The Study of History in Our Time, Brave New World: A History of Early America, Seven Fires: The Urban Infernos That Reshaped America, The Salem Witchcraft Trials: A Legal History, Roe v. Wade: The Abortion Rights Controversy in American History, and The Treason Trials of Aaron Burr.

Although the court cases that Mr. hoffer recounts involving intimate and business shenanigans among the Puritans are great fun, he has a more important point to make. Once society was rooted less in such small communities, defamation seemed a concern only for the famous or infamous. Today, harmful words are again a source of litigation. . . . as Mr. Hoffer’s case studies show, however, resolving disputes through public trials that result in reasoned decisions is better for a democratic society than the likely violent or coercive alternatives.