Law and Catastrophe sketches contours of a relatively fresh-yet crucial-terrain of inquiry. It begins the work of developing a jurisprudence of catastrophe. "This cogent work is based on the insight that, even when it proves itself palpably unable to deal with catastrophe, law can yet reassert itself, reproducing the bases of its authority over and over again. Indeed, this very act of reassertion is revealed to be the basis of legal authority itself. This book is a must read for any scholar interested in seeing the performance of law when its veneer of total control and stability have been stripped away."