Contract Law

The teaching of contract law has traditionally been concerned with examining and explaining the complex doctrinal rules of contract law developed over many centuries by statue and common law. Recently, however, law teachers have begun to see the advantages of teaching the subject from a more theoretical standpoint. Led by scholars such as Atiyah and Fried and influenced by intellectual developments such as the law and economics, and the law and society movement, the study of the theory of contract law has blossomed in the last 25 years to the point where it is now accepted that for students to be given a proper understanding of the rules of contract law teachers of the subject must introduce them to its best theoretical literature. Textbooks and casebooks have, with one or two noteable exceptions, failed to recognize this change. By contrast, this new book takes as its starting point the need to mix theoretical approaches with the study of cases and statutes and offers students a richer, more varied and more interesting selection of materials than can be found in any other comparable book on the subject. The materials are held together by a lucid and critical commentary provided by the authors, who also provide notes on further reading and exam-style questions to conclude each section. This book is an ideal way to introduce students to the complexities of contract law.