5 comments about Calamari and Perillo on Contracts (Hornbook Series Student Edition).

1. I bought this book because I needed a better understanding of contracts during my 1L year. This book expanded upon the contracts outline I already had, put out by the same authors, C&P. This horn book was helpful for understanding a few areas more in depth, especially for another class where I needed to dig deeper than what was taught in contracts. On one hand, this book was readily available in the school library (probably yours too) and therefore was probably not a necessary purchase. On the other hand, it will be a more useful book for me in and out of practice, since lawyers and non-lawyers alike use contracts throughout life.



2. As the title indicates, this text is not very clear on concise. The authors introduce you too a great deal of information on contract law, which on the surface appears to be very helpful, until of course, you begin to read the text. Once you begin to read it, you will become confused as the shear amount of material thrown at you is difficult to understand and is written in incredibly long, run on sentences.
   
   Recomend that you get an Emanual outline instead
   
   THIS REVIEW DOES NOT APPLY TO THE WEST HORNBOOK. FOR SOME REASON AMAZON HAS COMBINED THE REVIEWS FOR THE HORNBOOK AND THE BLACK LETTER OUTLINE FOR CONTRACTS.
   
   THIS REVIEW APPLIES TO THE BLACK LETTER OUTLINE FOR CONTRACTS BY WEST



3. This "student" text, bought for my daughter who is entering law school in the fall, is the reference any lawyer (or interested non-lawyer) should have at their fingertips.



4. THIS IS NOT THE PAPERBACK VERSION OF THE HORNBOOK. THIS IS A CANNED-OUTLINE WRITTEN BY THE AUTHORS OF THE HORNBOOK. DOES NOT REFERENCE CASES SPECIFICALLY OR OFFER A DETAILED ANALYSIS. MORE OF A "STUDY AID" ON PAR WITH EMMANUEL'S. FOR SOME REASON AMAZON CONFLATES THIS BOOK WITH THE HORNBOOK SERIES AND OFFERS IDENTICAL RECOMMENDATIONS AND DESCRIPTIONS FOR BOTH! DO NOT BUY THE PAPERBACK IF YOU WANT THE HORNBOOK!!



5. "Hornbooks" are summaries of a body of law used by angst-ridden law students to amplify and clarify the often arcane materials contained in Casebooks. The law of Contracts is one of the primary building blocks of a first year legal education, along with Property and Torts. Almost every 1L has a small library of these dark green encyclopedic volumes that weigh in by the kilogram.
   
   CALAMARI AND PERILLO ON CONTRACTS is one of the few Hornbooks (along with PROSSER AND KEETON ON TORTS) that is considered an acceptable, though not authoritative, treatise for purposes of legal citation. Of course, cases themselves trump any other source material.
   
   This is a very good, albeit very, very dense discussion of the Law of Contracts, which is one of the most intellectually challenging areas of the law. Most of the great legal theorists were Contracts specialists.
   
   Most of our Common Law is a variation on Contract law---Torts is a violation of the Social Contract resulting in civil injury; Criminal law is a violation of the Social Contract resulting in wrongs punishable by incarceration or other sanctions; Property is all about implied (or express) contractual understandings as to the holding of title and interest; even Civil Procedure and Evidence are forms of Contract, a system of agreed-upon rules for conducting cases.
   
   The sheer density of the material in CALAMARI AND PERILLO ON CONTRACTS makes this book less helpful than it might be to an overwhelmed law student. A typical 1L just doesn't have the time to parse and unpack this mahogany block of a text. There are other books out there that are more quickly and easily accessible, but none that acheives the depth of this particular volume. It is a "must have" for anyone serious in familiarizing themselves with the realm of Contracts.
   
   So many years after the intellectual concentration camp that is First Year Law School, I find that perusing Hornbooks for interesting minutiae can be a rather enjoyable way spend a rainy, quiet afternoon. It's too bad that most law schools make grasping the underpinnings of the U.C.C. feel like root canal without novocaine. Law has a beauty that is often ruined by legal education.
   
   If you plan to carry your Hornbooks around, get yourself a litigation case on wheels; it'll spare you a future of back problems.

3 comments about Gilbert Law Summaries: Contracts.

1. The charts in this book are what makes it so effective and helpful. Once again Gilbert's has provided law students with a great teaching aid and exam study guide. The questions in the back are very good, but beware 1L's in your first semester not having all of the information necessary to fully answer the questions.
   
   The charts in this book are fantastic and are not to be missed! A must have for law students!



2. I just finished my Contracts final, but I will not blame my grade on this book.
   
   This does what it is supposed to. It supplements the material that the Prof. presents in class. If you are not sure what the modern rule is, this is where you go. If you are not sure if there is an exception, this is where you go. If you are not sure what the basic functions of the rule is, this is where you check. If you are not sure what Restatement or UCC section applies, this is where you check.
   
   If you want to know the reasons Why, this is not where you go. The book explains the rationale behind the rule in only a few situations. If you have an exam that is only multiple choice, you could skip every class, read this cover to cover three times and do pretty well. Unfortunately, most exams are not like that.
   
   This book is great for supplementing your notes and filling in the gray areas. For that, it is invaluable, but like all commercial outlines, it cannot replace your notes.
   
   As the previous reviewer says, the flow charts are excellent. This certainly facilitates understanding, I would just recommend not putting all your eggs in this basket.



3. Overall good review of Con Law. Only suggestion is picking up black law dictonary with purchase some words they assume the reader knows which can damper learning experience.

5 comments about Contracts for the Film & Television Industry.

1. Litwak provides about as much as a professional could share in this throrough outing. He also shares 'boilerplate' contracts for virtally all key players in a film production. Of course, direct experience is the best teacher, but EVERY neophyte in film or television must own this book, and its a handy reference for seasoned professionals and part-timers.

   Also check out his companion book, "Dealmaking..." which has priceless cues on what gray areas to avoid in negotiating with lawyers and their clients.

   Essential for producers, directors, writers and anyone hoping to get financed or paid or both!




2. This book is a good collection of legal contracts for the industry, but it doesn't have a CD-ROM or associated website where you can download the contracts as a starting-point template.
   
   I believe the author is gouging us by forcing us to buy the CD separately. Very cheesy business practice. I hope you have OCR software to scan these pages into your computer.



3. This is a useful and inspirational book that explains a variety of legal film production matters and provides drafts of contracts for basically every aspect of film & TV production. And it covers all major players in the colossal process of making a film, helping to make sure that whatever your role in the production is, you understand your rights.



4. Comprehensive and a terrific resource. The goal is not to use the book instead of legal advice, but it is a terrific starting point.



5. Good basic legal information oriented towards the independent feature film producer but useful for anyone who wants to produce film or other distributed video. Won't replace having an attorney but will allow you to do some things by yourself and understand what is going on when you need to hire one. Similar to "The Independent Film Producer's Survival Guide" but with enough distinct material (example contracts for instance) to be worth having both.

2 comments about Cases, Problems, and Materials on Contracts.

1. I had Crandall (one of the authors) for Contracts my first year of law school. We unfortunately had to use this wretched book. What's funny is that he kept referring us to Farnsworth and Murray if we needed extra help with the material. Turns out that Farnsworth and Murray were so good, you didn't need even need to read the cases. This awful case book is such a POS, it's not worth the paper on which its written.
   
   The case book itself was poorly edited, and the authors' comments/explanations may as well have been written in Chinese. To me it is quite clear that this book was a way for the authors and Aspen Publishing to make $ as it added absolutely nothing that didn't already exist in the Contracts case book market.



2. find an old edition of this book if the editions are similar. The cases in it are old so the law isn't really changing so if you can tolerate not being on the exact same page in class & can deal with figuring out the different pages save your money since this text is hard to follow! the notes and problems aren't helpful

No comments about Rules of Contract Law, 2007-2008 Statutory Supplement: Selections from the Uniform Commerical Code, the Cisg, the Restatement (Second) of Contracts, and ... on Contract D (Statutory Supplement).

5 comments about Contracts: Cases and Materials (University Casebook Series).

1. You probably have no choice whether to purchase this book or not as it is likely required and if it was not what in the world would you be doing buying one of these?

   Yet if you are required you are in luck. Farnsworth's book is legendary. The selection of cases hits all the right points from drunken farm sales, to conniving socialites, and a classic selection of King's Bench tales.

   Not only are the cases well selected, but the budding law student gets to read Farnsworth's wry commentary and always salient observations. The only downside is his inclusion of foreign contract law representing his love of travels around the world but this is a minor flaw.

   There is but one legend of Contract Case Books and his name is Farnsworth!




2. So you have K and you have the book you have to read for K. Well 1st I must say that this is a great K book.
   
   However, it strays into some IP (I think) space with the ProCD case. Thus, my K teacher skips a lot of cases not out of time concerns but for content. There are a lot of international cases which are more or less worthless in my class. It is amazing how the UK cases are simply spoken from the bench and not written yet the prose is of immense quality.
   
   Also there are lots of sub cases that are not bolded. Often I miss them as I am briefing so you have to keep your eyes open for them.



3. This is a law book that many 1L's will come across this year and years to come. Having said that if you're reading this review you probably are shopping for a law book because it is on a reading list for a class. When I purchased this book through Amazon, with the expedited 2 day shipping, it was still cheaper than other comparable law websites (lawbooks.com, barristerbooks.com etc). Having said that the book was the right edition and brand new for a price that was slightly less than what I would have paid at the bookstore (considering I was in NY and the law school was in MA that wouldn't have been prudent). So if you are wary of buying used; stressing day-in-day-out whether the seller is going to send the book or if they'll send the right edition or numerous other problems that may run through your mind when purchasing a used book from an anonymous source without even seeing the product, then buy this new edition. You'll be happy to know you got a great product for a reasonable price. Plus without the notes or highlight marks that may distract some readers (present company included)



4. I agree with previous posters that the cases are well selected. That is possibly the only saving grace for this book. Of all my first year books, this is by far the worst. It's lack of organization and direction is confusing and unhelpful, especially to a first semester 1L.
   
   First, it approaches contracts from a somewhat backward and non-linear direction. Instead of discussing what a contract is and its various parts in an ordered manner, it essentially presents the concepts in a jumble (similar to a large bucket of Legos dumped on the floor) and expects you, a poor oblivious fool of a 1L, to put them all together without any direction. I understand it's law school, and that if you can't figure things out you probably shouldn't be in law school. But this takes unhelpful to an unnecessary level.
   
   Second, Farnsworth seems overly taken with the Restatement (2d) position. Perhaps that's because he was the reporter for it. He presses quite forcefully at times for its position, without giving due credit to alternative views or opposing positions.
   
   Finally, while I see the reason for having three levels of case discussion (principle cases, secondary cases, and cases discussed in the notes), it's net effect is unnecessary confusion. If it's important enough to discuss, give the case. If the concept is all that's important, put it in a note. The way most other successful casebooks do.
   
   Farnsworth may have been a great teacher. However that does not make him a good textbook writer. Other's I've talked to have agreed. Perhaps it does take a very special professor to make good use of this text. If that is the case, then the book is largely useless to the general 1L population.



5. It is a class textbook. You just have to have it to show up in class.

No comments about Selections For Contracts 2007 Edition: Statutes, Restatements 2d, Forms.

5 comments about Emanuel Law Outlines: Contracts.

1. if you need a quick lifesaver and a way to sort out a mess of notes at the end of the semester, then this book is for you!



2. This is the best outline for contracts for a 1L student. It has very helpful examples and is very well organized. It is definetly worth the $.



3. This book spoke of a lot of the same cases that my professor talked about and made them understandable. Definitely recommended if the material is the same.



4. This study aid has been incredibly helpful. It is great to refer to it after reading a case in your casebook. It has a lot of helpful tips in writing exams as well. I would definitely recommend Emanuel Contracts to anyone taking Contracts!



5. There is too much in this book to help in preparing your outline. There are other study aids which give better examples or explanations.

5 comments about Problems in Contract Law: Cases and Materials.

1. This book is extremely tedious. The authors use extensive language, commentary, and notes which further confuse and do not explain the already-difficult concepts presented in the cases.

   Not for pleasure reading. This book is used in Contracts Law classes; if your professor is not one who likes explaining things to any great extent I highly suggest purchasing a supplement or two to help you understand on your own.




2. This casebook was, by far, the best casebook I had as a 1L. It was well-organized, insightful, and clear. The author notes did much to clarify the complexities of contract law. As a student of Knapp's I'm probably a bit biased, but I did effectively learn my contracts.



3. This seller is great, the book is in great condition and I paid half of what everyone else paid, not to mention the fact that the bookstore sold out and I was one of the only people in my class that had a book. Great seller, great conditioned book, fast shipping. Thanks!!!



4. In comparison to the other casebooks I've been forced to read this year as a 1L, this casebook is probably the best written. Instead of just placing emphasis on the cases and the rules to glean from them, it also highlights key principles and strategies to use as a lawyer in the future(termed lawyering by the authors). I must admit that taking Nathan Crystal's contract class obviously helps in the understanding of the book, but it's a good regardless.



5. zanandjayna's review sums up much about how I feel about this casebook.
   
   Other complaints that I had is that the notes/comments sections are quite poor and are usually of little relevance to the case and/or concept you just studied. Also many of the cases have been poorly edited, leaving out key concepts that most prof's expect you to know.
   
   All in all, this is a poor casebook. If you use it i recommend a good supplement.
   
   Review pertains to 5th edition

2 comments about Contracts Examples & Explanations.

1. ...that was the most surprising thing to come out of buying and reading the book. It's a great read - clearly written and actually entertaining. It gives a very solid foundation of knowledge.



2. I'm not being law-snobby, I promise.
   
   I bought the book because I was struggling to get my head around remedies, and although it helped, I ended up buying Lexis' "Understanding Contracts," too.
   
   I should disclaim that what follows is based on the remedies section (that's all I used it for). That's a big piece of contracts, but maybe the rest of the book, which I didn't explore, is better.
   
   Okay, here goes:
   
   I found the E&E book to be imprecise with some concepts and vocabulary. It could be my own quirkiness, but to me that imprecision was maddening. In one paragraph, a plaintiff had "moved," "pled" and also "applied" for summary judgement. Applied??? SJ isn't a credit card! And it's not a pleading for that matter, either.
   
   If you find these types of imprecision trivial, the book might be for you. They left me wondering if there were any important issues being confused, as well. We all know that law exams ask us to identify doctrinal issues, weight them, and (if the opportunity presents itself) apply the particular policy analysis that our respective professors find endearing. The extent to which a secondary source like E&E leads us astray on the doctrine is the same extent to which we will be led astray on our exams.
   
   If you are like me, you should buy "Understanding Contracts" from the corporate mongers at Lexis. I felt like the concepts and vocabulary were applied in a more precise, crisp way. It will save you from trying to infer what the author is trying to say from what the author did say, and it will save you from writing snooty remarks and question marks in the margin -- time you could be spending learning Contracts.