Law Books

This book was required reading for my Political Science class on the American Presidency. It was very informative and supported the professor's lectures.

Edwards creates a book which may be a decent introduction to some more complicated ideas presented by more famous or prolific Political Scientists like Neustadt or Kernell, but there isn't a clear thesis to his book and much of it is uncited, which leads to incorrect assumptions, or things which are flat out wrong.

In specific, he writes on page 332 that "the houses of Congress are highly decentralized," and then runs with that assumption for quite some time. Edwards could not be further from the truth on this matter. It is a nearly unanimous conclusion among Congressional scholars (Smith, Gamm, Schikler, Dodd, Aldrich, Cooper) that the Congress has become almost as centralized as the days of Czar Cannon.

He also writes that Congressional voting records have been moving away from party line voting but this is flat wrong. The levels of party homogeneity are at an all time high and intra party cooperation is at an all time low. This negatively affects his conclusions in reference to the interactions between the President and the Congress.

While this book may be a good overview of certain things, Edwards has incorrect conclusion when it comes to the examination of Congressional / Presidential negotiations... and that relationship ought to be one of the clearest in the mind of any aspiring Political Scientist.

This is an excellent text for anyone interested in political leadership. Both the beginner and anyone who wants a top notch reference text. I have owned dozens of books on the American presidency, I only buy one from the list to give as a gift to others: Edwards & Wayne's "Presidential Leadership." Buy it you will enjoy it. I am buying a new copy to replace my old copy, which is falling apart!

This book has a lot of valuable information that you can use immediately. It has tear out forms and electronic forms which made it very easy for us to tailor the forms to our needs. I highly would recommend this book for any one looking to understand the basic rights and responsibilities of a landlord.

We purchased some rental property last year and within 2 months I was having to do an eviction.
I purchased both The California Landlord's Law book: Rights and Responsibilites and The California Landlord's Law Book: Evictions.

These were both excellent books. Easy to read and understand. Completely helped me with the eviction process (first one that I ever had to do).

I highly recommend these books to anyone who is thinking about becoming a landlord or is currently a landlord that manages their own property. They give you alot of information about what rights the tenants have and what rights you as the landowner do not have.

I purchased this book on the recommendation of a friend and I am so glad I purchased this book. It answered all of my questions and more. It is easy to read and well organized. I am a first time landlord and I feel I am in good hands with this book. The forms this book provides are also impressive, from rental agreements, to rental applications, it covers everything you can think of and does it extremely well. I cannot say enough good things about this book.

This book is a must for anyone who is a landlord. It has everything, including forms. It goes over everything a landlord needs to know, before, during and after renting out a property. I highly recommend this great book.

This is a great book for the residential landlord. It covers every aspect of what the typical landlord might face: from screening tenants, maintaining the place, returning the security deposit and evicting dirty rotten lease breachers.

The book is well formatted and easy to read. There is a section that covers every city that has rent control (something that I wasn't able to find anywhere else). But most importantly, it has lots of practical advice on the business of being a landlord--it is not just dry, legal stuff.

The book contains dozens of useful forms in three formats: paper (tear out sheets), .pdf and .rtf. The rtf forms are great because you can type everything, modify the form to meet your needs and end up with a clean document. But why not include .doc format documents? Word is such a popular word processing program, that .doc format should be included.

This book is focused at the small landlord facing typical situations. It is not a treatise on California landlord-tenant law.

The other commentator who had a tenant pay the first year rent in advance had a tenant that comes along once in a blue moon. To criticize this book for not covering this rare event is like criticizing Cosmopolitan magazine for not covering the Middle East. And every attorney is going to tell his/her client that form books are out of date--to do otherwise would put the atty out of business.

This is the BEST book on strategy that has ever been written! This book is timeless. I have seen strategies from this book utilized in business and politics. It does not take long to read, but has a wealth of information.

This book is great. If you have a enemy you want to take down or a solider about to go to battle, this is the book for you. It tells you everything you need to know about how to win.

This is a classic text that I have never read before. It is so interesting to see the perspective that it offers and the applications and relevance that it has today. A book that is remarkable in it's simplicity and expression of common sense. It makes me wonder how and where we've lost our way.

While this book is barely 70 pages long, the classic strategies in it are concise and valuble, quite timeless. The book was written 2500 years ago as a basic primer on strategy - and has withstood the test of time. It won't take long to digest the book - but that gives you more time to implement its strategies. There are sections on strategies, planning maneuvers, deception, etc., Together with Robert Green's book on Strategy it is a fine combination.


Michael Mandaville, Author of the upcoming "Citizen Soldier Handbook: 101 Ways For Every American To Fight Terrorism"

The Art of War and other Laws of Power from MobileReference
User friendly Table of Contents. EZ access and navigation. This is a very good digital item!

This text contains more information than the average 1L will cover in a civil procedure course, but this text is an excellent summary on the most commonly tested areas (pleadings, discovery, federal jurisdiction, etc.)Recommended as a review and/or supplement to any text.

I'm generally skeptical of new fitness and weight training books but frankly the pre-publication descriptions of Marty Gallagher's book are under-statements. There are so many publications today, especially on fitness, that it makes selection of sources difficult but you can readily see on the initial review that Gallagher's book stands apart from the others on the shelves.

The Purposeful Primitive is a book that I will constantly refer to in devising my own physical transformation routines (see Marty...I'm learning... physical transformation). The material presented is rich and deep. I know that I will have to re-read this book many times to better understand the concepts presented because they are in fact, sublime. I am equally certain that I will discover something new each time I bury myself in these pages.

The author introduces us to weight training, nutrition, metabolic and cardiovascular training and mental conditioning through the accomplishments of other athletes and reveals their insights and training methods as well as then men behind these methods. Gallagher skillfully presents the men who mastered iron and these are the same legendary athletes who many of us believed to be mostly myths. They are brought to life in this book. The Purposeful Primitive is an education in training that spans far more than it's 410 pages. The book teaches us the fundamental principles of physical adaption to training or transformation of our bodies using the most efficient and effective means necessary to reach our goals. The book reads well because Gallagher writes so well. It is a remarkable book and I am confident that it will be cherished by all who use it.

I want you to understand that while I say the book is rich and deep it does not mean that the concepts are difficult to understand. Just the opposite. The author presents the material with a concise and precise brevity in his writing that is a joy to read and yet fully explains each concept in terms that a laymen can grasp and readily use. So not only could I appreciate the points as a mere enthusiast but I readily understood and it was immediately apparent to me that this book created absolute gems to add value to my fund of knowledge for training. Some of the pages clarified my previous confusion over concepts or methods. Some of the pages gave me new concepts and some of the material turned my head inside out--a paradigm shift.

By reading and consuming The Purposeful Primitive I was becoming a better athlete page by page. Gallagher's fluid ability to communicate is not only entertaining but is empowering. I am able to immediately move forward with confidence towards what I want to achieve. I have a new mentor. Thanks to Marty Gallagher for shining light on the shadows.

In a review for a previous product, I stated there are 3 books I considered indespensible in my workout library. Now there are four. This book is worth the purchase for the section on the Iron Masters alone. When you add in the different approaches to lifting for strength and power, the psycology of working out, the cardio and diet sections, and all the little essays that give us a look into the "Purposeful Primitive", you have a book that is, in my opinion, one of the best books for approaching getting the best out of your body. I read this book cover to cover very quickly, and will probably read it several more times, just to pick up little kernals of information I missed the first time. The book almost reads like an Anthony Robbins book on NLP - here are the masters, here is how they worked out, here was their psycology, here is how you can apply it to yourself.

On another note, I must disagree with the first reviewer on the steroid situation. Steroids are mentioned, but not gone into great detail. This is not a book on how to cycle your anabolic drugs, but rather how to workout, no matter your experience level or goals for yourself. Steroids have been around in power sports since the late '50's and in most sports for 30 years now. Only now are they coming into the news because of teen athletes trying them, which is never a good thing. However, you can still get the benefits from these workouts and the ancillary information without the benefits of performance enhancing drugs. Will you be able to bench press 600 or deadlift 800 without the drugs? Probably not. Will you be able to squeeze every bit of the talent God gave you and be the best physical specimen you can be by following this book? Definitely so!

A book on the crossroads of bodybuilding, power-lifting, and fat loss, by an accomplished lifter, coach and writer with over forty years of experience in the game.

Mixed feelings about this book. Short form: I highly recommend it to a range of audiences, despite my reservations. I enjoyed reading it, and will re-read it several times, looking for the bits I can make use of.

Marty coached or met everyone who was anyone in the world of Power lifting in the 80s and 90s, and he fills the book with anecdotes that give a real feel for the characters that made a half-underground sport what it was. He also uses these anecdotes to great effect when discussing training styles and nutritional strategies, building his recommendations for various phases of body recomposition around the greats he trained with or coached. His writing is engaging, and his genuine love of the sport shines through. The tales of strength he shares are inspiring, and he has a knack for presenting even the roughest of his subjects with their humanity intact.

The training and diet information are comprehensive. Marty is a big believer in old school training splits and volume, and he has plenty of experience to back up his position. It's an approach to training that will feel pretty revolutionary to a machine trainer or someone caught up in the absurd, unproductive isolation training so many unqualified trainers end up foisting on their clients.

On the downside, this is mostly a book for beginners and intermediate trainees. I didn't see his weight training recommendations as all that relevant to my own current needs; my program is already spartan by Marty's standards, and I expect a fair number of more experienced lifters will feel the same way. His cardio and diet recommendations were similarly solid, but not likely to change the way I train or eat (not because they're bad; just because it's another case of "I already do that"). Marty also doesn't make much of a training distinction between Body Building, Power Lifting, Strong Man Competition, Olympic Lifting, Martial Arts, or other strength sports. To a more advanced lifter who knows where he wants to fit in the strength game, that cuts into the book's utility.

The place where the book falls down most is in its silence on the subject of steroids. It's a tough subject to honestly discuss. Talking about it opens you up to attack from the For The Children crowd and scares the heck out of a certain percentage of law abiding citizens (i.e. the vast majority of the market). Athletes don't want their reputations tarnished by the public admission that they were using, and supplement manufacturers (a prime job for ex-champions) hate admitting that their spokes-user did not gain twenty inch biceps at three percent body-fat solely through the use of their products.

So, Marty doesn't talk about steroids and training at all. This isn't just a problem because we miss out on part of the story of power lifting and bodybuilding in the day. Ultimately, the training you believe in and recommend is built around what you've seen work. The training that works for a twenty year old serious steroid user is not necessarily relevant to any natural trainee, let alone the thirty-and-over crowd Marty seems to be speaking to. I can see how much experience he's bringing to the recommendations in this book, and I absolutely respect his impeccable strength-cred. But I'm left wondering: Are these volume recommendations really the best choices for a non-user?

In the end, I'd say that this book is still of great value and well worth purchasing, despite its flaws. If you're interested in a slice of Iron History, or a beginner looking for a guide to body transformation, go get it.

"The disciplined armies always kept on foot on the continent of Europe, though they bear a malignant aspect to liberty and oeconomy, have notwithstanding been productive of the signal advantage, of rendering sudden conquests impracticable, and of preventing that rapid desolation, which used to mark the progress of war, prior to their introduction." I assume this is a quote from the federalist papers. Nevertheless, I had some interesting thoughts from the passage and wish to expound.

Because a state's army is impregnable, or atleast its will, defense of freedom and welfare are not necessarily the cause(I derived that from the passage, and the rest will be questions which came to mind). How can someone hold an injurious intent towards freedom and to his or her nation's welfare while, at the same time, claiming to defend such things? Can people defend something for which they wish ill will towards? Maybe they can defend the nation but not the mentioned causes.

Brandon Williford
Tulsa, OK

I rate this book 5 stars because the content is so vital to understanding what our founding fathers were thinking as they tried to convince the Americans in New York that a "Foederal" government, rather than individual states or territories, was the best way to bring the new union together.

OK, now readability. Does anyone else have trouble understanding the writing style of the late 17th century? I appreciate that the book is true to the original newspaper articles, but sometimes my eyes glaze over and I lose the gist of what the author was trying to say. For example: "The disciplined armies always kept on foot on the continent of Europe, though they bear a malignant aspect to liberty and oeconomy, have notwithstanding been productive of the signal advantage, of rendering sudden conquests impracticable, and of preventing that rapid desolation, which used to mark the progress of war, prior to their introduction." I think he's saying that a standing army will prevent foreign powers from easily invading your country. But I have to do this "translation" in my head as I read each sentence, so the reading really gets bogged down.

So, this work is not something that most people can just breeze through - it takes some thought and understanding of the culture and style of the time. If there is a modern-language translation available, I would buy that as a supplement, because the content definitely is worth learning!

Everyone who has taken a civics, government or American history class has heard of the Federalist Papers. These 85 essays, published anonymously in New York newspapers during the debate over whether New York would ratify the Constitution, are the best "footnotes" for the Framers' intent when devising the Constitution, the powers of the three branches of government, and the overall shape of the federal government. It is simply impossible to understand the Constitution without taking the time to read the Federalist Papers. And this edition has the very useful feature of cross-references in the Constitution back to the relevant essays of the Federalist Papers.

Some of the essays now seem irrelvant (i.e., the ones dealing with minting of coins). But others are just as powerful now as they were when first written - the role of the judiciary; the conduct of foreign affairs; the division of governing authority between the President and the Congress; the destructive power that special interest groups could have on the legislative process.

The Federalist Papers are often-cited by those who argue that it is the only source of interpretation of the Framers' intent. This may be true. But even the Framers themselves later argued vehemently over what their intent was. While Hamilton supported a strong centralized federal government, Madison eventually supported a weak federal government with strong states acting almost as independent sovereigns. That same political division - between states' rights supporters and strong federalists - continues today among Democrats and Republicans. Both sides cite to the Federalist Papers as supporting their respective positions. Yet neither side can conclusively resolve what the Framers' intent truly was since the Framers themselves seemed to have changed their original intentions as the political winds changed in the years following ratification of the Constitution.

This book is an essential reference guide for anyone with an interest in the American system of government. It is a valuable tool to probe the truth behind politicians' talk of "activist judges" versus "strict constructionist judges". For those who want to be educated on the topic, rely on the Federalist Papers thmselves rather than on others telling you what the Federalist Papers really mean.

You don't need to be told that the Federalist Papers are not for everyone, but for a niche audience of which I happen to be a member. And so, the qualifications: you need to have a pretty fluent command of the English language, and not just modern usage but also more archaic structure and vocabulary; you have to have a good grasp of history, at least a rough outline of it solidly in mind; you have to have a love for politics, political science and the Constitution.

If all of that is true of you, you'll probably enjoy reading this. At least, to a point. The Federalist Papers, written mainly by "Father of the Constitution" James Madison and "Shot by Aaron Burr/Closet-Monarchist" Alexander Hamilton, is a very lengthy defense of the then-proposed Constitution, point by point. And what I mean is, they will take items over which there could be seemingly no substantial debate and then write a series of three or four essays on that point. And so, it is possible that even the die-hard history/political science buff will be bored by the thirtieth page of the debate over whether standing armies should be allowed to be kept during peace time.

The most laugh-out-loud moment (and yeah, there are a few) is when the "Interstate Commerce clause" is dismissed in a slip of a paragraph, which is, of course, one of the most important and controversial passages to the modern reading of the Constitution, forming the basis for a good deal of our current legislation. Whatever one feels about our current "construction" of the Constitution, I think a fair reading of the literature will show that it is not the same construction as that of its authors.

Not laugh-out-loud at all, however, is the roaring silence on the subject of slavery. It does come up, from time to time, but the lack of debate on these matters (there are, maybe, 2-3 pages on the 3/5 compromise and a paragraph on the ending of the slave trade) proclaims the volatility of the subject matter, even 100 years before the Civil War. Madison wasn't looking to offend his audience, after all.

Of course, all of these debates are mostly moot (with a couple of exceptions) and so the Federalist Papers are largely a historical artifact... but there is something very telling about them. That is, how incredibly learned, intelligent and eloquent our Founding Fathers really were. They debate calling on historical antiquity, philosophies ancient and modern, then-current foreign political systems, the Constitutions of the several states and the Articles of Confederation. These people knew what they were doing and it all mattered to them, very much. It's kind of sobering to see with what care and deliberation they forged this Constitution, and then to compare it with the "guardians of the flame" today who can't even seem to agree on the meaning of terms like "liberty," "democracy," or, in the case of one former President, "is." When reading, you'll wish we had Madisons and Hamiltons today, or even politicians who bothered to read them... or, maybe we do, but the general level of care and education of our country today does not allow men such as those to rise. The Federalist Papers is an interesting insight into the incredibly well-thought-out origins of our country.

When Hamilton began the Federalist papers there were many anti- Federalists in the land urging against ratification of the Constitution. It was 1787, and Hamilton enlisted John Jay and James Madison to work with him on the papers. In the end there were eighty- five papers, five written by Jay, twenty- eight( most probably) by Madison and the rest by Hamilton.
The most influential of the papers were according to Wikipedia "number 10 calling for a large strong republic and including a discussion on factions, 51 explains the need for separation of powers. Federalist No. 84 is also notable for its opposition to what later became the United States Bill of Rights."
The Federalist Papers are written with great elegance and with a deep knowledge of the history of political forms. They are one of the many proofs we have of the special greatness of the founding fathers of the American Nation.

As my first read on the topic, I found this book extremely captivating, enjoyable to read, and leaving me with wanting more knowledge on the Supreme Court and Constitutional Law, particularly the opinions on some of the more noted cases of the last century. The author seemed to be rather fair and balanced but certainly the focus was more on the conservative nominations and justices. I would have liked to learn more about Ginsburg and Souter's personal and professional lives. The final notes make mention that this work is based on over one hundred interviews including nine supreme court justices, many of their law clerks, and high ranking officials from the White House to federal appeals court judges. Crawford also noted that the book relied heavily on the papers of Justices Marshall and Blackmun. Along with this extensive research and the authors academic and professional background, I believe that this book is a credible source of information. While the focus is on the struggles and conficts surrounding the nominations of the Supreme Court Justices over the past 25 years, the book particularly keys in to the nominations, hearing, and backgrounds of the more conservative justices and most recently, the important nominations of John Roberts and Samuel Alito that may prove pivotal in changing the direction of the Supreme Court to a more limited role of interpreting law rather than creating it. The political and ideological battles that surround the nominations is quite interesting as the expectations and the stakes involved have become politically and ideologically crucial. Further, the fear and skepticism that a supreme court justice will change his/her opinions once sworn in has become a relevant factor worth vetting the candidates for in a more extreme and embattled fashion than ever. All this makes for extremely good reading.

Although Ms. Greenburg is repetitious in many instances, she presents the reader an easy, informative and historically correct read. Will be excellent Supreme Court research treatist for many years to come.

I'm a second-year JD/MBA student at one of the nation's best law and business schools, and I picked up on the conservative bias in the book by about 50 pages in.

I have three reasons so far for saying the book is biased in favor of the right. The book sets out to portray the court's shift rightward, first of all, and focuses on conservative justices, sources of information, and issues.

Second, liberals are usually not mentioned for long, and Greenburg takes care to point out personality flaws in the liberals more than the conservatives. Blackmun, for example, is described as "touchy" at one point for no reason, without it being relevant to the topic, and without Greenburg providing a supporting quotation or evidence. She also spends a lot of time on how big of a disappointment justices like Kennedy, Souter, Blackmun, etc. turned out to be, and even talks about Rehnquist failing to turn the Court sufficiently rightward. Greenburg is supposedly an impartial journalist, but her bias is revealed because of the book's heavy reliance on conservative sources of information.

Thirdly, the book casts Kennedy and O'Connor as "moderates," when both were/have been/are solid conservative votes, except for some high-profile cases on social issues. If you don't believe me, just look up vote counts and see how often Kennedy and O'Connor vote and voted with Rehnquist and company. The only people who would try to label O'Connor and Kennedy moderates would be staunch conservatives, in order to shift the perceived spectrum of American politics rightwards.

This is a book by what I figured must have been a conservative, and my research corroborates it. I'm not saying the book is bad or anything; it still provides a lot of insight into conservative thinking. For example, it gives insightful looks into the workings of the Justice Department in aiding nomination processes.

This book is excellent. I wish all books that touch upon political matters were written so objectively. Sadly, one can often determine an authors political affiliations (and, perhaps, agenda) when reading a book but that is not the case with Ms Greenburg's book on the Supreme Court. She presents a fair story that is very readable. The 'inside' information gleened from interviews and the writings of the Justices makes the book especially interesting. It really adds a warm and human element to the history. I'd strongly recommend this book to anyone with an interest in the history and workings of the Court.

The stories of how the Justices were selected, who else was considered, who made the decisions and how are fascinating. In particular the story of John Roberts is something anyone can relate to if you've had a 'dream job' that you've been close to getting.
The author clearly has much better connections with Republicans than Democrats, as evidenced by the thin coverage of Clinton's appointments. She repays her Republican assistants by employing terminology used only by the most extreme anti-abortion zealots, and by praising Justices like Scalia and Thomas as defenders of the Constitution, then vilifying Justices like Ginsburg or Souter for their adherence to the Constitution's first and fourth ammendments.
Still a great read, and I wish I could read another version of it with a leftward bias to balance this one out.

I've read many self-help books, but this is one that stays on my shelf. I have recommended this book to my close friends, as well. As an owner of several small businesses, I found Gail Evans thoughts to be both eye-opening and applicable in many aspects of life.

She explains the psychology of each gender in business clearly. I do not find her sterotypical, like other readers, but stating obvious truths. I wonder if the readers who did not value her opinions might be men.

I bought this for my wife who works in a male dominated field. She loved this book and she talks about it all the time. I'm shocked she read it! Now I'm looking for my chance to sneak a read of it when she wont notice it missing from her book shelf. Trust me, if MY wife read it and liked it, it must be one damn good book. Maybe I'll buy my own copy and read it - I think I will. Second review to follow...

I read this book in 2000 when it was first published. It is a quick read, and it is entertaining. What brings the book to mind again today is that earlier this week I used one of the author's stories to illustrate a point I was making when presenting information to upper management at a chemical plant. As a licensed professional counselor and personal and professional life coach, I often bring in stories, because they are wonderful teachers. Gail Evans has some good stories, but more importantly, she comes across as definitely authentic. Therefore, when she gives a list of what MEN can do that WOMEN can't, the reader pays attention.
They can drink. We can't
They can cry. We can't.
They can have sex. We can't.
They can fidget. We can't.
They can yell. We can't.
They can have bad manners. We can't.
They can be ugly. We can't.

Now then, even though we can all argue that this is not always true, her concept is a marvelous instigator of REAL conversation about some of the different expecations we have of men versus women. I'm glad I bought this book back in 2000, and I'm glad I kept it all these years. I recommend reading it yourself to see if eight years has evidenced any change. See more from "Thinkwriter" at www.thinkwriter.blogspot.com

I love this book! Easy to read. Easy to understand. Uses real examples of situations and shows you your choice for action. Basic Premise is *Here is the situation* & here are your choices as to how to handle it* ~Make your own decision as to how you want to do it, just be aware of your choices and their implications. I will read this one again!!

The knowledge that men and women function differently isn't new and there are plenty of books on the topic already. Most of the books I've read on the subject do a great job of identifying our differences and how men and women communicate or socialise but aren't so good at discussing anything real about how we behave in the workplace. Play Like a Man, Win Like a Woman is all about how we work, how we are perceived and motivating factors for success.

Gail Evans is my new hero on the topic of career success for women. She writes from her own experience with real life anecdotes from other men and women in management roles. Her style is very easy to read, pleasantly candid, and often humourous which really is refreshing for this type of book. I find a lot of books on gender relations to be overly serious and a bit too textbook for my taste. Evans also counsels women to be themselves and not try to be men but to retain uniquely female qualities such as intuition and emotional intelligence, something that can be lacking from women working at executive level these days.

This book is an excellent resource for women in business at any level but particularly useful for new grads or women working in entry level roles who don't have a great deal of experience with the politics and strategy of dealing with men in management roles. This would also be an extremely valuable read for any men working in a classic male dominated heirarchic management structure with a predominantly female workforce (i.e. health, education).

This "student" text, bought for my daughter who is entering law school in the fall, is the reference any lawyer (or interested non-lawyer) should have at their fingertips.

As the title indicates, this text is not very clear on concise. The authors introduce you too a great deal of information on contract law, which on the surface appears to be very helpful, until of course, you begin to read the text. Once you begin to read it, you will become confused as the shear amount of material thrown at you is difficult to understand and is written in incredibly long, run on sentences.

Recomend that you get an Emanual outline instead

THIS REVIEW DOES NOT APPLY TO THE WEST HORNBOOK. FOR SOME REASON AMAZON HAS COMBINED THE REVIEWS FOR THE HORNBOOK AND THE BLACK LETTER OUTLINE FOR CONTRACTS.

THIS REVIEW APPLIES TO THE BLACK LETTER OUTLINE FOR CONTRACTS BY WEST

I bought this book because I needed a better understanding of contracts during my 1L year. This book expanded upon the contracts outline I already had, put out by the same authors, C&P. This horn book was helpful for understanding a few areas more in depth, especially for another class where I needed to dig deeper than what was taught in contracts. On one hand, this book was readily available in the school library (probably yours too) and therefore was probably not a necessary purchase. On the other hand, it will be a more useful book for me in and out of practice, since lawyers and non-lawyers alike use contracts throughout life.

THIS IS NOT THE PAPERBACK VERSION OF THE HORNBOOK. THIS IS A CANNED-OUTLINE WRITTEN BY THE AUTHORS OF THE HORNBOOK. DOES NOT REFERENCE CASES SPECIFICALLY OR OFFER A DETAILED ANALYSIS. MORE OF A "STUDY AID" ON PAR WITH EMMANUEL'S. FOR SOME REASON AMAZON CONFLATES THIS BOOK WITH THE HORNBOOK SERIES AND OFFERS IDENTICAL RECOMMENDATIONS AND DESCRIPTIONS FOR BOTH! DO NOT BUY THE PAPERBACK IF YOU WANT THE HORNBOOK!!

"Hornbooks" are summaries of a body of law used by angst-ridden law students to amplify and clarify the often arcane materials contained in Casebooks. The law of Contracts is one of the primary building blocks of a first year legal education, along with Property and Torts. Almost every 1L has a small library of these dark green encyclopedic volumes that weigh in by the kilogram.

CALAMARI AND PERILLO ON CONTRACTS is one of the few Hornbooks (along with PROSSER AND KEETON ON TORTS) that is considered an acceptable, though not authoritative, treatise for purposes of legal citation. Of course, cases themselves trump any other source material.

This is a very good, albeit very, very dense discussion of the Law of Contracts, which is one of the most intellectually challenging areas of the law. Most of the great legal theorists were Contracts specialists.

Most of our Common Law is a variation on Contract law---Torts is a violation of the Social Contract resulting in civil injury; Criminal law is a violation of the Social Contract resulting in wrongs punishable by incarceration or other sanctions; Property is all about implied (or express) contractual understandings as to the holding of title and interest; even Civil Procedure and Evidence are forms of Contract, a system of agreed-upon rules for conducting cases.

The sheer density of the material in CALAMARI AND PERILLO ON CONTRACTS makes this book less helpful than it might be to an overwhelmed law student. A typical 1L just doesn't have the time to parse and unpack this mahogany block of a text. There are other books out there that are more quickly and easily accessible, but none that acheives the depth of this particular volume. It is a "must have" for anyone serious in familiarizing themselves with the realm of Contracts.

So many years after the intellectual concentration camp that is First Year Law School, I find that perusing Hornbooks for interesting minutiae can be a rather enjoyable way spend a rainy, quiet afternoon. It's too bad that most law schools make grasping the underpinnings of the U.C.C. feel like root canal without novocaine. Law has a beauty that is often ruined by legal education.

If you plan to carry your Hornbooks around, get yourself a litigation case on wheels; it'll spare you a future of back problems.