The Progressive Assault on Laissez Faire: Robert Hale and the First Law and Economics Movement traces the career of Columbia Law School Professor Robert Hale, who used principles from finance and economics to attack justifications for constitutionalizing laissez faire during the Lochner Era. The reviewer argues that while Hale's policy prescriptions may miss the mark, his refutation of a priori defenses of the free market is nonetheless important for contemporary debates over the appropriate levels of regulation and redistribution.