Customer Reviews

Burnham's Introduction to the Law and Legal System of the United States, 3d (American Casebook Series and Other Coursebooks)

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I have used the Burnham book for five years in my Introduction to American Law class of foreign LL.M students. This is the only book I have found that gives such a comprehensive introduction to American law. It provides an excellent survey. It is at once complete enough to use alone for a course, and at the same time useful as a foundation for special exploration of specific areas of interest.

I have recommended this book to every one of my colleagues who has taught the American legal system course in our London programe. When I heard of the publication of the second edition, I immediately asked my West representative to favor me with a desk copy. The task of finding materials suitable for lawyers pursuing a comparative master's degree at Notre Dame bedeviled me for several years. Almost every introductory text on the American legal system seemed to offer a basic understanding of American history in general and Constitutional history in particular. Books that treated fundamentals of the adversary system, or that described the legal profession or the judicial system, often contained little if any exposition of substantive areas of the law. Materials that described substantive legal areas often anticipated an understanding of the institutional regime that applied the law. The day Burnham's Introduction to the Law and Legal System of the United States crossed my desk was bright indeed. As I scanned the table of contents, I was struck at how it tracked the syllabus of the course I was preparing to teach. Its coverage of legal institutions was complete in five chapters. The basics of criminal and civil procedure were available, and eight additional chapters, each treating a legal subject area, were offered. Professor Burnham imaginatively arranged the material to facilitate coverage via a survey or in much greater depth responding to the background of the students or the amount of time available for the course. The book has now been used on several occasions. The students and I have found it to be a strong asset in learning about the American legal system. The book also serves as a marvelous inexpensive resource for foreign students to carry home with them.

Burnhams book on U.S. law and its legal system is great for anyone who wants to learn or study U.S. law. It is comprehensive in that it provides the basics on the most important parts of substantive and procedural law. For foreign law students and jurists in particular it gives a well written and very understandable introduction into U.S. law. Professor Burnham seems to intentionally adress "foreigners" in certain sections explaining the similarities, but also the existing differences between the common law system and the civil law system (as he defines the central European legal system). This makes many topics easier to understand for outsiders. The in depth explanation of the adversary system and its implications for some U.S. particularities is also valuable, as are the guidelines for legal reserch.

Buy this book for starting to learn U.S. law or as a reference book. I grab it now and then just because it actually offers good and informative reading.

(This review is based on the First Edition of the book)

I had limited knowledge of the U.S. legal system at the time I started an LL.M (Master of Laws) program for foreign law graduates in the United States. Professor Burnham's book, "Introduction to the Law And Legal System of the United States," was very beneficial to me because it gave me a broad introduction to the U.S. legal system. The text prepared me to absorb as much from my classes as native born students and contributed to my academic success. The text is thoroughly researched, clearly written and demystifies U.S. legal terminology. I highly recommend this book to any non-U.S. professional who is considering the Master of Laws program, or as a reference to any practicing professional who wants or needs to learn about the U.S. legal system.
Natalya Stepanova-Sipper
Adjunct professor at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law

I like this book. It is clearly written. There are some editing errors and typos, but nothing glaring.
I haven't found another book that gives such an intro. Overall - I think that even the somewhat subtle philosophical points in judicial decision making philosophy are very well explained.

This Book is very broad but every chapter is extremely brief and it could be better. I would check another introductory book.

The book came on time and it was in great shape. I would order from them again.

The book was the correct edition as pictured on Amazon's site, it arrived in a timely manner, the condition was as noted, and the price was right. The reason I rated this seller with four stars is I never received a reply to my email request about which edition it was; as far as I know there is one or two older versions and this latest edition. Maybe, I thought, they expect me to assume that I will always get the edition pictured, which is not always the case unless recent guidelines have imposed stricter policies on sellers about advertising older versions under pictures of the new. Anyway I was very concerned and felt I was taking a risk because if it wasn't the latest one the time would have been lost and I would have had to pay the shipping to return it. Having had this experience, I would buy from this seller again with a degree of confidence I didn't have the first time making a purchase from them.