Most Helpful Customer Reviews
12 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
No Nonsense, November 8, 2006
Research and writing guides for the academic community (and the legal community in this case), don't come much more direct and no-nonsense than this. The Bluebook doesn't mess around with cheesy tips on how to write or structure a paper, which are useless puffery in other style guides that are merely there to add space and cost. The Bluebook lays out the highly complex requirements of the style in an easy-to-follow format, with useful examples for all (or most) possible sources, from standard newspaper articles to sections of foreign constitutions. The book ably provides what you need to write a properly-cited paper for the legal academic world, with no need to waste your time slogging through the filler of a typical style guide. The only problem is that the Bluebook is not quite adequate for beginners, even if they're fairly knowledgeable, because it assumes you're already familiar with the voluminous Latin terms and other arcane language of the legal realm. Basic introductions to some terms would certainly be an asset here, but eventually you'll have to buy a law dictionary anyway. [~doomsdayer520~]
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18 of 26 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A truly evocative and powerful effort, July 22, 2007
Let's be honest. A lot of people felt that Bluebook had fallen off. After that award show confrontation with ALWD and the concealed weapons charges, Bluebook looked like they were on the ropes. That only makes this 18th edition more triumphant for the Bluebook. A stunning return to the form that made them such an irresistible bunch of ragamuffins to begin with, Bluebook has a sure answer to the naysayers who thought they couldn't adapt to the electronic movement--a blistering tribute to Internet citation.
For anyone interested in their new "harder" sound, the blue practitioner pages don't disappoint. Meanwhile the smooth, sculptural rhythms of "cases in textual sentences" will leave a smile on your face.
Overall, the soothing melodies of this consistently powerful album are ideal for any mood, whether it be insomnia or deadline adrenaline rushes. And let's be honest, it's the Bluebook. You're going to buy it. As another reviewer observed: buy it, don't download it off the internet! The artists really deserve our support.
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5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
A Necessary Evil, September 25, 2008
Oh for heaven's sake! Let's not get carried away. The Bluebook is a useful guide to the complexities of legal citation ONLY because ... get this ... the Bluebook CREATED those complexities in the first place! (What do you expect when you let a bunch of Harvard *students* write the rules?) That's right -- the rules are the rules ONLY because the Bluebook says that's how it should be done, and the entire legal profession has foolishly signed on. The ALWD manual -- a guide produced by practicing lawyers who teach writing -- is MUCH better than the Bluebook in many ways, but no actually uses it outside academia. Until ALWD is the standard in legal practice, you'll need the Bluebook if you plan to be a lawyer.
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