Missoula

I have mixed feelings about this book. On the one hand, the topic of rape is extremely important and should be discussed. On the other hand, I think the emphasis here is wrong. Krakauer bashes lawyers in general for their tactics in both prosecutorial choices and defense tactics, but I think that comes from a common misunderstanding of the our legal system. In fact, Krakauer's logic suggests that he is opposed to our “innocent until proven guilty” standard, at least when it comes to rape. Because he insists that the allegations of rape must be believed until disproven, the result is the opposite: the alleged rapist is guilty until proven innocent. And I'm very uncomfortable with that.

Instead, it seems to me, we should focus our attention on rape prevention. How do we ensure that rape doesn't happen? That's the real challenge of our time, not reforming the legal system.