A good read about Plagiarism

I recommend reading Richard A. Posner's The Little Book of Plagiarism (New York:Pantheon Books, 2007). Posner, the well-known judge and public scholar, wrestles with the ambiguity of the concept, provides case studies, and balances out various competing concepts. Posner notes that the "subject of plagiarism requires cool appraisal rather than fervid condemnation or simplistic apologetics" (p. 108) and he generally succeeds in providing that "cool appraisal." He includes some excellent discussion of how plagiarism is treated within the academic community. The best reading on the subject since Thomas Mallon's Stolen Words.