Federal Income Taxation - A Law Students Guide to the Leading Cases and Concepts, Eighth Edition (University Textbook Series) [Paperback]

Marvin A. Chirelstein (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 8, 1999 | ISBN-10: 1566627869 | ISBN-13: 978-1566627863 | Edition: 8th

Softbound book with 414 pages of income tax law, cases, and principles. The book walks you through income, deductions, attribution tax accounting, and recognition of gains and losses. This study guide mirrors casebooks generally in use.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Columbia University

Product Details

• Paperback: 414 pages
• Publisher: Foundation Pr; 8th edition (May 8, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1566627869
• ISBN-13: 978-1566627863
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.2 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,695,435 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Taking Income Tax? Buy this book!, December 7, 2004

By 

RPP (Dallas, Texas) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Chirelstein's Federal Income Taxation: A Law Student's Guide to the Leading Cases and Concepts (Concepts and Insights) (Concepts and Insights Series) (Paperback)

I strongly, strongly recommend this book for any law student taking an income tax course who has no experience in accounting. I read this book in the beginning of the class- it's relatively short and incredibly readable- and it made the actual class a breeze. Like most law school subjects, it's easy to lose the forest for the trees, and starting off with this book will let you understand how things fit together before you start slogging through- and get lost in- the Code.

As a corollary to that, this book is basically useless as an exam prep; it's too much of a general survey of the topic, and if you're using this to prep for your final you are in deep trouble. However, if you just signed up for tax in the winter term, buy this book and read it over break- it'll take you a day or two, and you'll be glad you did.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars As advertised, January 27, 2001

By 

Michael Cappucci "bline24" (Boston, MA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Federal Income Taxation - A Law Students Guide to the Leading Cases and Concepts, Eighth Edition (University Textbook Series) (Paperback)

This book comes as advertised. It's a clear, succinct, helpful, and occasionally witty introduction to the law of federal income taxation. Chirelstein has a rare talent for making the sometime inscrutable rules of tax law accessible to even the most tax-phobic law student. Particularly useful are his examples (even his charts and numbers are easy and helpful!) and "Loose ends," in which he ties up a particular chapter or subchapter with some point of clarification that makes so much sense you're just sure your professor is going to have something about it on the exam. Which also bears a point of warning: law professors read it too! Beware of using it as your principal text, as, thorough as it is, the book does not cover all the cases and doctrines of tax law. I know firsthand that clever professors can and do write Chirelstein-proof exams.

12 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Much more engaging than you'd expect from a tax guru, September 3, 2002

By 

Ben R. (NYC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Chirelstein's Federal Income Taxation: A Law Student's Guide to the Leading Cases and Concepts (Concepts and Insights) (Concepts and Insights Series) (Paperback)

If you get a kick out of the legal writers who make no attempt to hide their arrogance (Scalia comes to mind), then you will enjoy reading Professor Marv. You get the feeling that he often wonders to himself what it's like to be stupid.

Even if you don't take to his "burdened genius" persona, it won't prevent you from seeing new ways of looking at concepts in addition what your casebook provides. He wrote this as a "universal supplement," and has taken care to avoid a retread of any of the major texts.

Unlike previous editions, according to the author, this one has a Q & A section at the end of every chapter. They're useful exercises, especially since they have answers and explanations, unlike most casebooks.