There is enough background on human rights in these pages to replace a dozen recent books on the subject, but the distinguished authors are true to form in going far beyond a history or compendium to lay out the outlines of a world order of respect for human dignity, for which there already is "a global constitutive process" of decision. The argument is general, not dwelling on the state of human rights in individual countries (e.g., the Soviet Union) or how the law of global community may make itself felt there. But the authors make a powerful case, and if they are ahead of their time, that is to their credit.