Those who bemoan the increasingly tactile manner by which the law influences our lives will despair at the central premise of What About Law? – A Guide to Studying Law at University. Its authors - six leading academics - have no qualms about the ubiquity of the law. “Law is all around you,” they write, even adding that “this is what makes it fun and rewarding to study”.

To the cynics, this is rather like saying that because waste disposal systems are central to a civilised society, their study is exciting and pleasurable. Remarkably, however, What About Law? succeeds where so many legal guidebooks fail. The authors give a measured, succinct tour around key legal issues that is both illuminating for the non-lawyer and refreshingly thought-provoking for those whose undergraduate days are long behind them.

The target audience is, though, putative law students. The editors, Catherine Barnard, Janet O’Sullivan and Graham Virgo, have accordingly selected a range of notable cases for each chapter to illustrate fundamental legal concepts in criminal law, tort, contract, land law, equity, constitutional and European Union law. For example, Virgo’s chapter on criminal law is based upon the notorious R v Brown case that involved a group of sado-masochists, while Barnard’s analysis of European Union law is tied to the Bosman football ruling.

By anchoring the book in contemporary cases replete with human interest and a tangible effect on our lives, What About Law? skilfully demystifies the law and ably proves its argument. The law is, indeed, all around us - and this book will whet your appetite to find out how and why.

So, too, Gary Slapper’s avowedly friendly guide to the legal system, How The Law Works. Professor Slapper wears his vast learning lightly in an easy-to-read, fascinating book, one brimful with curios, anecdote and explanation. One quote, from Justice Frankfurter, a well-known American judge, is particularly apposite: “The best way to prepare for the law is to come to the study of the law as a well-read person.”

What About Law? - A Guide to Studying Law at University by Barnard, O’Sullivan and Virgo is published by Hart Publishing, £10

How The Law Works - a Friendly Guide to the Legal System by Professor Gary Slapper is published by Collins, £8.99

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