Law and Society (8th Edition) [Hardcover]

Steven Vago (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0131928449 | ISBN-13: 978-0131928442 | Publication Date: February 5, 2005 | Edition: 8

This highly readable and comprehensive book offers a balanced, current and comprehensive overview of the legal system; and administrative, criminal and civil law in a cross-cultural context. It considers the most recent theories and research findings, and emphasizes developing and emerging trends. It focuses on the evolution of modern legal systems, current intellectual movements in law, interplay between law and social change, and the main concerns and issues in the profession and practice of law. This is the only book that considers multicultural and cross-cultural issues in a contemporary context with an interdisciplinary emphasis. For individuals interested in the law, criminal justice, and political science.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“The organization is phenomenal.”

-Robert Gainor, Esq. , Granite State College

 

 

“This book wins out over the competition because of its scope and thorough and accurate treatment of topics and ideas.”

-Carol Thompson, Texas Christian University

 

“The textbook is quite appropriate for undergraduates and for one semester courses…the language is clear and simple; examples are numerous, classical and current; and the topics are well organized in sequence and content.”

-Gloria Lessan, Florida State University

 

“This is one of the great joys of this book. It is so well and clearly written that it could be used in High school, college or law school. It is not overly pedantic or highfalutin. Some of the texts that I have reviewed for this course are too academic and you have to be conversant in their ‘language’ to understand it. Not so with this great text. This book is very readable and my students have commented on this point. It is very informative and to the point. One problem with these types of texts is that they are overly theoretical; not so with this text. This book could almost be a practitioner’s guide. What I mean by that is that I have over 15 years experience as an administrative law judge, law clerk and prosecutor and this book reflects the reality out there.”

-Robert Gainor, Esq. , Granite State College

 

“The approach and perspectives presented in the text work well across different teaching approaches-I have experimented with different ways of teaching the class- discussion based, lecture based, and combo. The text works well for all of the forms.”

-Carol Thompson, Texas Christian University

 

 

--This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

From the Publisher

This balanced and comprehensive overview of the entire legal system -- administrative, civil, and criminal law -- considers the most recent research and theories and discusses important recent trends and real-life developments. It focuses on the emergence of modern legal systems, current intellectual movements in law, reciprocity between law and social change, and the profession and practice of law. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 480 pages
• Publisher: Prentice Hall; 8 edition (February 5, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0131928449
• ISBN-13: 978-0131928442
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #587,431 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A job well done, July 25, 2000

By 

Prof. R. Paris (Arlington, Texas United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Law and Society (6th Edition) (Hardcover)

This is an excellent textbook. The language is clear, the ideas well exposed, and the subject covered in a most satisfactory manner. The sixth edition I have read contains an extensive and very useful bibliography. I'd recommend it whoheartedly for undergraduate courses on the topic. Some minor criticisms: first, I would have liked the section on theoretical perspectives to be more extensive, while the chapter on methods seems to me to be superflous, at least for undergraduates. Second, at the bottom of page 232, the information give is confusing. It talks about tons, without specifying whether metric or not. Further, it uses ounces, pounds and kilos, all very unclear. Thirdly, the sections on the socialist system are obsolete, insofar as those systems have practically disappeared. And, yes, although the author claims, at the bottom of p.1 that he has followed an eclectic apporach, "without embracing or advocating a particular position, ideology, or theoretical stance", the truth is that I feel I detect a very subtle but, nonetheless recognizable, "leftish" leaning. But those are minor shortcomings, whcih shrink to nothing in comparison with the very positive achievements of the textbook. Kudos!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars It's good once you get past chapter 1, January 31, 2010

By 

A. Lee Gregg "JD student" (Georgia, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Law and Society (8th Edition) (Hardcover)

When I read chapter one, I thought I was reading a foreign language. I decided to read the summaries first at the end of each chapter. This made reading much much easier and the topic friendlier.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good Beginer's guide, January 11, 2010

By 

L. Weiss "the law" (usa) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Law and Society (9th Edition) (Hardcover)

The book is well written and researched but is very preliminary and recommended for beginers. Its a great starter book to those who are not familiar but are interested in the law from a sociological perspective. The author writes well and has thorough research and provides references for further information but can be somewhat repetitive.