Book Review of David M. Engel and Frank W. Munger, Rights of Inclusion: Law and Identity in the Life Stories of Americans with Disabilities (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2003)

Abstract

David Engel and Frank Munger’s book, Rights of Inclusion: Law and Identity in the Life Stories of Americans with Disabilities, is an important contribution to the literature on disability. The title of the book reveals its essential methodology. The organization of the book is focused on ‘life stories’, in the form of interviews with 60 individuals reflecting on their lives. Most were interviewed twice, with a span of years between interviews, allowing for changing perceptions over time. Each of the six chapters of the book starts with a description of the life story of one or more of the interviewees. Then follows an analytical piece, using the preceding life story(ies) as a foundation. Sometimes additional life stories are briefly presented and woven into the analysis.

Keywords: Engel, Munger, inclusion, disabilities, interviews, stories, Americans