Customer Reviews

Principles of Contract Law (American Casebooks)

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Chances are, if you're reading this review, you're a student who's been assigned this book for your introductory Contracts class. If you have, you're in luck, because this is one of the clearest case books that I read as a first year law student.

If, on the other hand, you're a law professor who's considering reading or using this book for one of your classes, please give this book a fair chance as it's well written, well-edited, and provides a clear picture that helps prevent your students from having that look of desperation that's so common during the first year of law school.

Contracts was not my favorite course from my first year of law school (far from it, in fact) but this book is what made the course bearable for me. The format of the book is simple, and in its simplicity is brilliant.

Each chapter begins with a clear and concise introduction, providing the student with the basic vocabulary necessary to understand the material that that chapter covers.

The chapters are further broken up into sections. Each section also begins with a brief, but well-written and clear introduction, which guides the student gently into the ideas that are about to be covered. After this introduction, there is usually a list of the Restatement and U.C.C. provisions that are relevant to the material about to be covered. Then there's a case or two, followed by questions and notes on the material just covered. This is followed by a couple more cases, which are also followed by questions and notes, and thus ends that section, to be followed by a section that is structured similarly.

It's a simple formula, and it works. The introduction orients the students successfully. The Restatement and U.C.C. provisions provide general rules that are then applied in the first case or two. Note materials and questions following those first cases are provided to get the student thinking. The next couple cases provide exceptions to or variations on the general rule. Note material sums it up and then the student is ready to move on to the next topic.

This books is one of the prettier ones in my collection (with the faux-leather cover) and doesn't get destroyed easily like the books published by Aspen. Also, it's only about an inch and a quarter thick, which meant it was the only book I didn't hate dragging around for a semester.

I'm really glad this was the book I used for my intro-Contracts class.

In what generally can be categorized as unreadable, dense, unorganized and without clear themes, Professor Burton's textbook for law students is a clear aberration. Professor Burton presents contract law in a clear outline fashion, divided into different and inciteful principles. Cases within each principle clearly present individual "trees" and in the end, the reader comes out with a very clear and workable picture of the "forest." Professor Burton does not "hide the ball" in the form of ongoing, mindless and unreadable "Notes and Questions."

All law professors and aspiring law professors should consider Burton's text as the standard and the model to which all legal texts should aspire.

BUY IT!!!! A good book on contract law. It is a keeper and provides essential topics in an easy to read fashion. I love reading as much as I can about our legal system. If you want to learn more about contract law, go to my website or watch my lectures on Youtube. My website is: www.drlapaglia.com - and my Youtube videos are located at: http://www.youtube.com/user/DRLAPAGLIA

Product was just as described and delivered quickly! Thanks so much...here's hoping I pass now!

I have studied contract law for 35 years and have never read such a piece of absolute garbage. Burton obviously spent little time writing this one.