ONLY A FOOL or an exceedingly brave man would write this book. As its subtitle implies, Forbidden Grounds commits the social offense of arguing that the United States should abolish the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and its progeny, casting doubt on the unquestioned principle of non-discrimination as a legal duty. The book argues instead that private employers should be allowed to discriminate if they like on the basis of race, sex, religion, national origin, age, and handicap--and that the intended beneficiaries of the civil-rights laws would be better off without them. Know that whatever else the author may be, Richard A. Epstein is no fool.