preface typically tries to say what a book is about; sometimes it also serves to express acknowledgments. In my case, these purposes converge. What is the book about? Well, I suppose I could describe it as an inquiry into the recurring complaint that provides the title for the first chapter—the complaint that accuses the vast, solemn outpourings of lawyers and judges of being “just words.” But that sort of preview would be opaque—and potentially embarrassing. (“You actually wrote a book—a whole book—about whether law is just a lot of words?.
