No comments about Q&A Contract Law 2007-2008 (Questions and Answers).

5 comments about Basic Contract Law.

1. This book ia a little dry, but it has everything you have ever needed to know. It is written for people that are not lawyers but need to write contracts as a major part of their job. While asking a real lawyer may be necessary in some cases, in many situation this book will save you hundreds on legal fees



2. Of all the textbooks I've ever had in law school and undergraduate classes, this book is likely the most frustating and the worst.
   The entire book shows complete disregard for the fact that the book is meant to teach concepts unknown to the reader - not to provide review for those who already know. New legal terms are introduced not by telling a general meaning, but rather by including a case that uses the term repeatedly without defining it. Only after the case is there any attempt at giving a general and helpful attempt at a definition.
   Also, instead of discussing neatly in a paragraph that some courts treat a rule slightly differently, the authors put many short excerpts of cases. They add little to the reader's understanding of a concept or rule - at least not any more than a one sentence comment would along with a citation. It is also very repetitive.
   The authors seem to fear that writing on their own (in place of reprinting excerpts of cases) is somehow less valid or helpful to a law student. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Judges do not write opinions with the sole aim of teaching law students contract law. So to rely on them as if they did seems to be uncalled for.
   For those who say this book isn't that bad, have put the bar far too low and also miss the point. There is no requirement that legal textbooks be dry, unorganized, or unhelpful. They can convey the information without playing hard-to-get by hiding things in cases and a poor format. The authors must be more interested or passionate about contract law than their book shows. Overall, this book has lists and lists of cases, but no more - suggesting no understanding of the purpose of a text book.



3. First, you must consider that a) this is a law school casebook, it's not meant to be light reading, and b) my review might be somewhat tained by the fact that I've taken a Contracts course taught by Mel (an awesome lecturer), but: this is a more clearly organized and well edited casebook than most.

   The cases are well chosen and often paired in contrast to illustrate the few most common views courts have on a particular rule of Contract, usually with a full case first of the majority view and a few short "squib" cases after for emerging or fading perspectives. It's up to date with cases on electronic signatures and shrinkwrap licenses.

   The commentary after each section is readable and lucid. The organization is clear -- Eisenberg himself lectured straight through the book and it made for what seemed like a solid, complete course, focusing mostly on the full-length cases. If you're planning on teaching Contracts, I'd take a good look at Mel's book.




4. You'll most likely have this assigned, or you won't be reading this...so since you have no choice in the casebook your prof is using, here's my 2 cents:
   
   The book is DRY. Of course, contracts is not the lightest course to assimilate, but I frequently wondered why so many cases and few explanations, instead of the opposite? I'm sure it's possible to learn contract law from this, but if it weren't for the Law School Legends Contracts on tape I probably would not have remembered the dozens and dozens of cases about the same principle. Please, next time attempt READABILITY! If I were a contracts lawyer already I probably would not be buying the casebook, I'd try a treatise!



5. In addition to other comments on the dryness and counterintuitive organization of this book, I must point out that it is poorly edited as well. Many of the blatant typographical errors appear in the first couple chapters, but they continue throughout. Multiple times I have found a quote that doesn't make sense and, upon looking up the source material, discovered that it was improperly transcribed (i.e. "diverse" becomes "divers"; "estopped" becomes "estoppel"; "an" becomes "and"). As a first-year student deciphering dense material, the last thing you need is to second guess the accuracy of the information you receive from your textbooks. I won't give the book 1 star because I've read no other Contracts casebooks for comparison, but I can give an inaccurate, poorly edited text no more than two.

No comments about The Managers Guide to Understanding Commercial Contract Negotiation (Managers Guides Series).

5 comments about An Introduction to Mathematics (Galaxy Books).

1. "The study of mathematics is apt to commence in disappointment."
   
   "One of the causes of the apparent triviality of much of elementary algebra is the preoccupation of the textbooks with the solutions of equations."
   
   In discussing Descartes' coordinate geometry, Whitehead states, "Philosophers, when they have possessed a thorough knowledge of mathematics, have been among those who have enriched the science with some of its best ideas. On the other hand, it must be said that, with hardly an exception, all remarks on mathematics made by those philosophers who have possessed but a slight or hasty and late-acquired knowledge of it, are entirely worthless, being either trivial or wrong."
   
   "Civilization advances by extending the number of important operations which we can perform without thinking about them. Operations of thought are like cavalry charges in a battle - they are strictly limited in number, they require fresh horses, and must only be made at decisive moments."
   
   "The really profound changes in human life have all had their ultimate origin in knowledge pursued for its own sake."
   
   Alfred North Whitehead, a remarkable British mathematician and philosopher, enlivens his look at the fundamental ideas underlying mathematics with provocative observations. Nonetheless, Whitehead does not avoid mathematics while trying to explain mathematics. While this book is clearly for the layman, it may occasionally require some effort. An Introduction to Mathematics is delightful, insightful, and intellectually stimulating.
   
   Whitehead argues that mathematics is an abstract science that is primarily concerned with generality, not specificity. In trying to master the techniques and mechanics of arithmetic, algebra, and geometry, many students fail to recognize the fundamental ideas. They become lost in a murky fog of details.
   
   I found myself surprised by Whitehead's insightful explanations of familiar topics like variables, constants, and simple algebraic equations. I know math. But I now recognize that I had not really given sufficient thought to some very basic concepts. Just a few pages into this little book I was actually looking at some familiar concepts from a very different perspective.
   
   Later discussions on mathematical symbolism, imaginary numbers, conic sections, trigonometry, and infinite series move more slowly and may require rereading. But the insights gained will more than offset any additional effort.
   
   Whitehead occasionally digresses to discuss the act of mathematical creation. He agrees with the poet Shelley who compared the discovery of "some great truth" to the slow snowflake by snowflake accumulation that leads to an avalanche. While not discounting the role of genius, Whitehead sees breakthroughs in mathematical thought, often as unexpected as an avalanche, the natural result of the accumulation of knowledge through the centuries.
   
   Whitehead's small book could serve as the basis for a short class or tutorial for high school students (or perhaps even for humanities majors with less than fond feelings for mathematics.) An Introduction to Mathematics is an effective counterbalance to standard textbooks that focus too much on technique, manipulation, and mechanics. Five stars.



2. This is a nice, little book: short, clear, and very well written. I confess, though, that I'm not sure who its best audience really is. If you know some math, and have thought and read AT ALL about the philosophy of math, you will not find much new in this book; still, since it will be quick and easy to read, you will probably find it worthwhile, for the occasional new insight or alternative way of looking at things. I found the section on series particularly worth reading, because series were not well covered in my own math education. I also found the comments on the measurement of time to be subtle and thought-provoking.
   
   If you know little or no math, you MIGHT find this a good introduction (as the title implies), but don't expect any detailed exposition on the actual PRACTICE of math. This book is really an introduction to the philosophy of math. It is concerned with WHY we do math, and why math takes the form that it does. Whitehead's goal is to introduce some key concepts, common to all math, such as variables and abstraction. Any actual proofs or expositions in the book are included only as examples of how these concepts play out in seemingly different areas of study.
   
   Perhaps the reader best served by this book would be one who is comfortable with the practice of math at least through the basic high school level (geometry, algebra, trigonometry), and possibly more, but is just starting to think about the underlying philosophy: the "why" of math as opposed to the "how" of it.
   
   For those who don't know, Whitehead was, of course, one of the premier philosophers of math of the early 20th century, co-author with Bertrand Russell of the 3-volume magnum opus "Principia Mathematica". The present book was written around 1911, and is definitely dated in spots - for instance he talks about electro-magnetic vibrations in the "ether" - but that doesn't detract from either its usefulness or readability.



3. Whitehead's "Introduction to Mathematics" is an illustrative, lucid, and concise discourse on the "three great mathematical ideas of the variable, of algebraic form, and of generalization." As other reviewers have indicated, the author presupposes that the reader have at least *some* experience with elementary algebra, geometry, and trigonometry. The book's greatest strength, however, lie in its ability to supplement the rigor of an undergraduate math education (or something akin) with the "why" of said education. In sum, both math- and non-math oriented folk will benefit from reading this book --- the non-mathematicians may be turned on to the elegance of the discipline whereas the mathematicians may be reminded (gasp!) of its beauty and relevance.



4. I assume that it was very unusual, in the early 20th century, for scholars of Whitehead's stature to write for an educated lay readership, and that IM is one of only a handful of 'popular mathematics' books of its day. As such, IM and Whitehead are to be commended. Aside from an occasional reference to the 'ether', as others have noted, IM is current and compelling in every respect. It is a fine read (though rather curiously organized: it's final two chapters seem to belong much earlier in the book). I give it 4 stars only because others, standing on Whitehead's shoulders, have done a much better job of covering similar ground. I have in mind, especially, Tobias Dantzig's first-rate "Number: The Language of Science" (recently reissued).
   
   A word to the wise: avoid the Barnes and Noble edition of IM. It is rife with typos, not to mention a missing diagram. I don't know whether the errors are B&N's own, or owe to the fact(?) -- it seems -- that this edition corresponds to (though does not photo-reproduce) the original 1911 edition, which (judging from the latest offerings on Amazon), was superseded by a corrected edition in 1948. Whatever the source of these errors, they are many and greatly distracting.



5. This is one of those rare works by a true master. The following quote from page 161 definitely applies to the book itself:
   
   "If we understand the preceding ideas, we understand the foundations of modern mathematics".
   
   This is what this book is about. If you're looking precisely for this, as I was, you'll be truly enlightened by its reading.

No comments about The FIDIC Forms of Contract.

No comments about High Court Case Summaries on Contracts (Keyed to Fuller, 8th) (High Court Case Summaries).

1 comments about Enterprise Contract Management: A Practical Guide to Successfully Implementing an ECM Solution.

1. A must have primer for anyone contemplating the implementation of an Enterprise Contract Management solution for their organization. This book provided me with a very thorough and complete study of what it takes to do ECM right, and how to get the most value out of an ECM solution.
   
   When I was done reading the book I felt ready to tackle just about any issue regarding Enterprise Contract Management. Step by step it walked me through the process.

No comments about Contracts (Casenote Outlines).

2 comments about Online Contract Formation.

1. Everything Mr. Kinsella does is done with a certain flair, Online Contract Formation is no exception.



2. If you're interested in online contract formation law from a multi-jurisdictional perspective, then get this book. This is the definitive text on the subject, destined to remain so for many years to come. You'll find yourself returning to it again and again. Written in Kinsella's usual engaging style, you won't be able to put it down. Who'd have thought such dry subject matter could come alive like this?

No comments about Casebook on Contract Law.