Editorial Review

SHIPS WITHIN 24 HOURS NEW BOOK FROM PUBLISHER US HARDCOVER 7TH EDITION STILL IN THE PLASTIC WRAP WITH ELECTRONIC VERSION OF THE BOOK INCLUDED GREAT BUY!!! ... Read more

Reviews

Most opaque prop text out there - be mad at ur prof if they choose this one, December 11, 2010
Dukeminier has the unique gift of making even simple topics as opaque as possible. You will need supplements, lots of them, because of the awful way this book is structured, cases chosen, the odd phrasing and, in particular, how future interests are presented. Want proof - Look at "Acing Property" supplement where they give you a special appendix for the way Dukeminier presents things, particularly Rule Against Perpetuities - something already too complicated on its own that Duke manages to foul up further. I really wish law professors would destroy the forced demand for this terrible (more so than most prop casebooks, and achievement in itself) text.

Ok, September 20, 2010
This was the only book out of the ones I ordered that I had expedited. It unfortunately was one of the last books to arrive. Just wish it would have arrived sooner. In great condition though. ... Read more

Editorial Review

Just as Watergate was the defining political story of its time, so Enron is the biggest business story of our time. And just as All the President’s Men was the one Watergate book that gave readers the full story, with all the drama and nuance, The Smartest Guys in the Room is the one book you have to read to understand this amazing business saga. ... Read more

Reviews

Who will be among the smartest guys in a federal prison?, November 3, 2003
This book will be especially valuable to those who have a keen interest in "the amazing rise and scandalous fall of Enron." I also commend to their attention Smith and Emshwiller's 24 Hours: How Two Wall Street Journal Reporters Uncovered the Lies that Destroyed Faith in Corporate America. The "smartest guys in the room" included Kenneth Lay, Jeffrey Skilling, Rebecca Mark, Andrew Fastow, Kenneth Rice, and Clifford Baxter. Whereas Smith and Emshwiller explored the same company as investigative reporters, McLean and Elkind seem (to me) to have approached their subject as corporate anthropologists. Both books reach many of the same conclusions as to what happened...and why.

Two significant differences are that Smith and Emshwiller limit their attention primarily to a period in 2002 extending from October 16th (when Enron announced huge losses caused by two partnerships) to December 3rd (when Enron filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy); McLean and Elkind cover a two-year period of the company's "amazing rise and scandalous fall." Also, McLean and Elkind devote far more attention to each of the "smartest guys"; Smith and Emshwiller seem far less interested in them, except in terms of the impact of their mismanagement and corruption. Let's say there are two books about the collapse of the twin towers at the World Trade Center; one focuses on the human tragedies associated with it whereas a second book addresses design, construction, and structural issues. Obviously, both approaches are valid.

McLean and Elkind suggest that the eventual collapse of Enron was caused less by the greed of senior-level Enron executives than it was by their arrogance and incompetence. Their lack of basic business acumen is astonishing as is their defiance of regulatory agencies and contempt for customers. None of them seems to have had a moral "compass." They exemplified, indeed nourished a culture of brutal competition between and among their subordinates. Each used Enron as a personal ATM as well as a means by which to structure all manner of corporate partnerships and high risk/high yield investments without fear of any personal liability. If one prospered, so did they. If it failed, the loss was Enron's. On to another.

Primary blame for all this must be shared by Lay, Skilling, and Fastow. McLean and Elkind rigorously examine the inadequacies of each, suggesting that if only one of the three had not been involved, it is probable that Enron would not have had the problems it did. Attorneys, accountants, brokers (notably Merrill Lynch) and bankers (especially Citibank and JP Morgan Chase) apparently were aware of Enron's bending and then breaking of various laws but were earning so much in fees that they chose to remain at the Enron "trough" side-by-side with Lay, Skilling, Fastow, and other Enron executives.

Consider this brief excerpt from Chapter 10 (page 149):

Here's how another former employee explains the process: "Say you have a dog, but you need to create a duck on the financial statements. Fortunately there are specific accounting rules for what constitutes a duck: yellow feet, white covering, orange beak. So you take the dog and paint its feet yellow and its fur white and you paste an orange plastic beak on its nose, and then you say to your accountants, `This is a duck! Don't you agree that it's a duck?' And the accountants say, `Yes, according to the rules, this is a duck.' Everybody knows that it's a dog, not a duck, but that doesn't matter, because you've met the rules for calling it a duck."

There are so many other brief, equally revealing excerpts which I am tempted to include but won't. Earlier, I suggested that McLean and Elkind display in this volume many of the skills of a corporate anthropologist. I also commend them on their skills as storytellers. Of course, it helps to have many colorful characters and such an interesting narrative. Among business books, this is one of the rare "page turners." If Enron remains a classic example of organizational dysfunction, my guess is that this book will remain the definitive analysis of the causes and effects of that dysfunction.

Not For Lay People, March 26, 2004
There's blame galore to go around for the spectacular downfall of Enron Corp in that sober year of 2001. Accountants, rating agencies, regulators, lawyers, consultants, bankers--and these are just the bad actors outside the corporation. Look inside, where Bethany McLean and Peter Elkind treat their readers to a thorough journalistic scouring, and the smell of the rot almost wafts off the pages.

The authors rightly spend the vast majority of the book examining the personalities and circumstances that allowed the company to become what it was at the end of its life. Mix a potion that's one part hardscrabble Harvard MBAs, one part energy deregulation, and one part hysterical bull market, and you've got a financial molotov cocktail. Sadly, as we all know now, it was largely the little guy who paid the price for all the hubris of the players in this story, a fact that tends to get lost in the authors' painstaking recreation of the most complicated shell game in history.

But the story of Enron's fallout could provide the material for a whole other book. In this one we get the tale of the players, people like Ken Lay, Jeff Skilling, Rebecca Mark and Andy Fastow, all filled with an equal mix of remarkable brilliance and fatal arrogance. All are indicted by these authors as rabid players in a game they made up themselves, deeming themselves beyond the petty world of rules and regulation. But coming in for equal excoriation is the system itself, the web of enablement and intimidation that allowed Andy Fastow to quietly hammer together the company's coffin in the form of a maze of phantom accounting entities designed to prop of the appearance of the corpse inside. The most unnerving theme the book treats indirectly is the effect of mass psychology--the way exceptional personalities distort and transform reality on a systemic scale. And it offers little in the way of how something like this could ever be prevented in the future.

One word of warning for people not acquainted with basic finance: this is a complicated story, about erstwhile geniuses in the arcane use of financial products and regulatory loopholes. Though it's enjoyable even if one can't follow every detour down each accounting scheme, some knowledge of Wall Street and its workings seems necessary to understand the implications of the book overall. Given the fact that most experts didn't understand what went on here, the authors do their best to keep things as simple as possible, often using helpful metaphors and simple summations after a few pages of analysis, but they have no choice but to assume a level of sophistication among their readers.

Which leads to one gripe. In "The Smartest Guys In the Room" not a single institution or individual player involved with Enron escapes the authors' finger-pointing notice, with but one exception. Where were the journalists in all this? Why did short-sellers have to be the ones to ask all the tough questions? Bethany Mclean should take understandable pride in being the first one to pry the door open on Enron's malfeasance, but she was just a little late. One would think that with the mass of financial journalists on CNBC, the Journal, the Times, etc., that just one would have bucked the collective cheering squad and dug deeper into what this supposedly invincible company was up to. But of course, this was the bull market. A time when everyone was exuberant when they should have been scared.

Corporate Character, December 20, 2003
The authors describe a complicated critical mass of personalities that caused the Enron meltdown. McLean and Elkind have written a book about human behavior in a pressure cooker where top dogs vie for power. Enron executives cannibalized their own company with Wall Street's help. Financial engineering may have assisted these people, but their willingness to do it in the first place is a question of character.

I also recommend a book that explains how structured finance can be used to funnel money out of companies and which explains Enron's disguised loans: Tavakoli's "Collateralized Debt Obligations and Structured Finance."

turning a dog into a duck..., October 19, 2004
It is by now a clich� that arrogance and myopia contribute to many a downfall, whether the downfall is personal or corporate. This book proves that point aptly. Hubris and a sincere belief that Enron could do no wrong in the world contributed to an atmosphere of injudicious superiority. Combine that tumultuous atmosphere with ineffective, weak-willed executives and poor business management skills, Enron always was a precarious edifice awaiting its fate.

At least, such is the narrative that the authors offer. They argue that Enron, over the past 15 years, repeatedly found itself in financial trouble, and, rather than come clean to the Street, used financial engineering strategies to make its numbers appear better than they were. This practice arose out of a fanatical devotion to the company's stock price; the company's stock price would not continue to rise if the company missed the Street's earnings expectations for the quarter. Since so much of the executives' wealth was tied up in Enron stock and options, financial shenanigans became a self-fulfilling prophecy. After all, the authors point out, if most of your wealth is tied up in a company's stock, don't you have an incentive to do everything possible to keep its stock at a high level? Certainly, at this point, financial chicanery becomes more attractive than financial fidelity.

Therein lies the fundamental flaw of Enron (as well as numerous other bubble companies): the very compensation scheme created by the company to inculcate a sense of loyalty in its executives created a conflict too gross to manage adequately. The conflict in this instance is, in retrospect, a simple one: executives had all the incentive in the world to keep their company stock at a high level because all of their wealth, and their future wealth, was tied up in the company. Therefore, there was little incentive for them to be straightforward with the Street, or, for that matter, the company's finances. Enron thus became a delusional place where it could do no wrong and its managers were businesspeople par excellence.

All of this is false of course. Enron's managers are human after all, and all humans are susceptible to the foibles and follies of people everywhere; no matter how smart a group of executives, nor the sterling reputations of the schools from which they received their MBAs, absent sound business principles, ignorance becomes bliss and delusion becomes reality.

The authors are at their best when they explain the source of Enron's executives' arrogance, and the consequences for the company of that arrogance. It is important, therefore, to understand the company's hierarchy. The company was run by its founder, Ken Lay. Despite having the title of CEO, he played a role more akin to Chairman of the Board or a statesman: he spent most of his time away from the company, hobnobbing with celebrities and heads of state, and otherwise embodying the rock star CEO mentality. Business is just another form of theater, a la Sean Penn walking down the red carpet at the Oscars. Thus, other executives, from Jeff Skilling, on down, basically ran the show, and their outsized, narcissistic personalities therefore dictated a lot about the Enron culture.

Skilling came from McKinsey, the famous consulting firm full of Harvard and Wharton MBAs. As we all know, people with MBAs from Harvard and Wharton can be very intelligent. But they can also be very arrogant and dismissive of those they consider to be their intellectual inferiors; the authors imply that Skilling demonstrated the worst tendencies of a Harvard MBA, and, absent any checks in his behavior, his arrogance and condescension became the shaky cornerstones of the poorly constructed edifice that became Enron.

The metaphor of a poorly built structure is, at the end, the appropriate one for Enron. Despite the thousands of worker bees carrying out the daily operations of the company, the executives at the top were maniacally focused only on telling the Enron story: manipulating the Street into thinking that Enron was the greatest thing since sliced bread. Their thought was that as long as the stock keeps going up, and the Street believes in the Enron story, then there is no need to make the hard business decisions that are actually quite unpleasant to deal with. Enron had no organization and no comprehension of the risks it faced, either in its daily operations or in its financial engineering. One need not be an architect or engineer to know that structural integrity is important to the sanctity of a building. Such is the lesson we learn from the Enron fiasco: image is nothing when it is created only for the purpose of supplicating the Street and propping up the stock.

Incidentally, the title of this review comes from a reference in the book. The authors quote an accountant who explains that Enron used creative accounting techniques that often hewed to the letter of the law but violated its spirit. Under this logic, if you have a dog, but you paint its fur yellow and paste a beak on it, you technically have a duck, if by "duck" you understand it to mean "an animal with yellow fur (feathers) and a beak." In other words, if a transaction meets the technical requirements for it to be considered, say, revenue, then it need not matter that, in substance, it's not really revenue but debt.

Brilliant, October 17, 2003
Like many, I followed the Enron disaster as it unfolded with a certain curiosity usually reserved for matters closer to home. Somehow, the more I learned, the more intrigued I became at the sheer magnitude of the arrogance, incompetence and irresponsible management displayed by executives who were surely thought to be `the smartest guys in the room'. Fearing the media at large was skewing the coverage afforded to Enron on a whole, I looked forward to a book or report that would serve as a definitive look into the entire Enron affair with the type of thoughtful and provocative investigation that "The Smartest Guys In The Room" provides. Having been extremely disappointed with another recently read Enron expose, I could not recommend "The Smartest Guys In The Room" highly enough. Not only do McLean and Elkind do an excellent job in uncovering the facts, they do so in a crisply entertaining and enticing manner that kept me interested and consumed the entire way through. From the opening chapter, the authors flush out the characters, establish the timeline and ultimately piece together an incredibly insightful story of greed, ignorance and outright superciliousness, worthy of anyone's time and attention. "The Smartest Guys In The Room" is an incredible section of work that deserves to be recognized as the truly inspired endeavor that it is.

Human Frailty and Corporate Failure, December 18, 2003
The authors have done a masterful job of describing the critical mass of complicated personalities that contributed to the Enron meltdown. McLean and Elkind are keenly perceptive about human nature at its worst, and paint colorful portraits of the personalities of Enron's top honchos. The behavior of Enron executives jockeying for position at the expense of their corporation is infuriating.

Ripping off the investors is bad enough, but some of the executives cannibalized their own company with Wall Street's help. Financial engineering may have assisted these people, but their willingness to do it in the first place is a question of character. McLean and Elkind do a masterful job of implying the contributing elements of lack of character. This is a well written and fascinating book. This is not so much a book about finance as it is a book about human behavior in a social crucible where power and high rewards are at stake. This book will become a classic in business school ethics courses and organizational behavior courses.

"Collateralized Debt Obligations and Structured Finance" by Tavakoli will become the textbook of choice for any graduate school developing a course in this subject. It's clever in explaining structured finance including Enron's disguised loans. The author gives reasons why investment banks and sureties who aided Enron had their own failings in how they distributed internal social rewards. It's a structured finance text that warns against and suggests defenses to this kind of behavior and starts out saying that one should expect fraud and be prepared to diffuse it.

The Guys Weren't So Smart After All, August 22, 2005
If you have any interest in the sticky wicket of corporate ethics, you've gotta read this book. Bethany McLean, who wrote the original article that helped start the ball rolling on Enron's inevitable collapse, and co-author Peter Elkind have done a masterful job documenting the rise and fall of Enron, an energy company that was, more or less, a tissue of lies.

The amazing things that stick out in my mind are how easy it was for almost all the participants in the unquestionable fraud that was Enron to justify what they were doing, to themselves and many others, before and even after the collapse. And how worthless it all was--most of them weren't very happy, even when Enron was riding high. And, for a few extra million bucks, they've pretty much made a mess of their lives.

The authors seem incredulous that, after giving the copious documentation of poor management and outside fraud, that most of the former Enron executives consider themselves victims of everything except their own greed and incompetence.

Yet does it surprise anybody that a company who was run by a management team that considered the most relevant aspect of Enron's business to be that "it was a really cool company" was, in fact, a mess? That the "loose-tight" management practices and Enron and praised by consulting firm McKinsey consulting were, in fact, all loose? McKinsey, a consulting firm that prides itself on radical management thinking and outside-the-box creativity (Tom Peters, one of McKinsey's most famous former employees, has made a very good living advocating management practices, and certainly attitudes, not so different from what Enron put into practice) has since tried to distance itself from its close relationship with Enron, and the authors don't pursue that connection very doggedly. But I am prone to wonder if, in a way, McKinsey isn't just as complicit as Arthur Andersen was in contributing to the debacle that was Enron.

Although McKinsey didn't actively participate in the fraud, book-cooking, legal manipulations, and outrageous debt that eventually brought Enron down--at least, not directly--certainly the McKinsey attitude was exhibited all throughout Enron. Certainly, Jeff Skilling--as guilty as anyone in Ernon's downfall--would have been a proud McKinsey case study, before the fall. He managed Enron "loose-tight", he hired creative and talented people with no experience in the Energy industry, he "innovated" with all sorts of new non-managing management techniques. He was a McKinsey golden-boy.

Somewhere out there, I'm sure there were some Tom Peters' seminars extolling the virtues of Enron's modern management and "super cool" corporate culture. The fact that the company cooked the books while leaking money all over the place not withstanding.

But, Arthur Andersen is out of business and the company that probably contributed more to the mindset that eventually put Enron out of business is still doing pretty well. Too bad nobody at McKinsey or Arthur Andersen suggested Enron might benefit from, say, talented people with actual experience in the energy industry. Or real oversight. Or actual cashflow.

Another interesting point made by the authors is the complicity of the analysts, who, unlike Arthur Andersen or Citibank, had no real vested interest in covering up the fraud. Yet, they touted Enron, even while observant short-sellers decided Enron was fatally flawed beneath the surface, and ended up reaping a windfall on their shorted positions, with no more information than what was publically available.

If we take nothing else from the sad tale of Enron, I hope we at least take this: mark-to-market accounting, that allowed Enron to legally book future profits, sometimes profits that would accrue over 20(!) years, as profits for that quarter, is little better than SEC-sanctioned fraud. Thus, while making almost no real money, Enron booked huge deals where the real money was far off in the future, paid huge bonuses to the deal makers on projected (re: made up, often wildly optimistic) profits, and thus, on that score, legally defrauded the stockholders.

A great anecdote is the one where, while the stock price is plunging into the toilet and it's becoming clear Enron is going to have to be bought, or go belly-up, Ken Lay asked Jeff Skilling to help him choose from the fabric swatches he has for the new interior of their just purchased G5 corporate jet.

It's a good book and, if you're like me, you'll shake your head in wonder quite a lot. What the hell were they thinking?

well-written, engrossing story, December 30, 2005
In 1998, the top 200 most highly compensated employees at Enron took home $193 million. In 1999, that increased to $402 million. In 2000, it was $1.4 billion; each of the top 200 made over $1 million and 26 employees made over $10million. In 2001, the year Enron went bankrupt, 15 employees made over $10 million. (p. 241) I begin my review with this because, after reading this book, it appears to me that this sums up what the real purpose of Enron as a corporation was. It wasn't to provide benefits for its customers or shareholders (though those who sold at the right time did extremely well), it was to make money for the executives and senior employees.

The Smartest Guys in the Room tells the story of Enron, starting before its formation with Kenneth Lay's career in the energy business, to its creation out of Houston Natural Gas when it (under the guidance of Lay as CEO) purchased the InterNorth pipeline company, three times its size. HNG's skillful negotiations (by John Wing) led to the smaller company's management team ending up in charge--an acquisition that bears some similarity to tiny Global Crossing's acquisition of Frontier Communications.

The book covers a huge cast of players and some terribly complex financial arrangements (the details of which are only summarized for the layman in this book), but the narrative still works well and it reads like a mystery novel. It is as sympathetic as it can be to many of the characters and to the company--the basic ideas behind energy trading make sense, though the implementation by Enron was flawed by the fact that Enron managed everybody's trades rather than using a neutral exchange or direct exchanges between partners where neither was Enron.

It is clear that the senior leadership of Enron who were not complicit in the arrangements designed to conceal debt from shareholders and the general public were at the very least negligent in their fiduciary responsibilities--Lay's main offense seems to be a completely reckless disregard for what was going on in his company, and it's somewhat
plausible that he remained a true believer until the end. The fact that he read aloud this written question in front of employees suggests a certain amount of naivete or detachment: "I would like to know if you are on crack. If so that would explain a lot. If not, you may want to start because it's going to be a long time before we trust you again." (p. 376)

The book documents the role to which there was complicity in these deceptive financial arrangements by the auditors (Arthur Andersen) and various banks (such as Citibank and J.P. Morgan Chase) which were desperate for the massive financial fees from Enron's business. It describes the poorly designed regulatory framework in California which Enron exploited to its advantage (again in ruthless and deceptive ways).

It's a large book (414 pp.) with an extensive index, but is a relatively quick read for its size. It makes it clear that Enron has earned its place in the pantheon of hated companies, but it's not so clear that the steps taken in the wake of Enron, like the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, will prevent such things from happening again--especially compared to a much simpler regulatory framework which just holds executives personally and criminally liable for corporate misbehavior.

Best Book Yet on the Rise & Fall of Enron, October 17, 2003
For someone like me who sits on a corporate board and did business with Enron (and knew some of the Enron executives involved) -- this book confirms what I suspected for years before the fall: Enron was a sleazy, unethical, immoral company run by crooks. This debacle was encouraged and allowed to happen by the outside directors on the Enron Board. Only they could have stopped it. But as the book makes clear, they never asked the most basic questions any director should ask. Sadly, these directors will probably never be held accountable for their malfeasance. If justice prevails, at least Lay, Skilling and Fastow will ultimately do hard time and forfeit their enormous illegal gains. This book should be required reading for every corporate director. One disagreement with the authors; the Enron players were not the smartest. They were simply brazen, arrogant crooks who thought they were the smartest.

Packed with Knowledge!, August 3, 2004
Enron is, of course, old news by now. The company went bankrupt in 2001, and its spectacular collapse was merely the first of a series of notorious corporate scandals. Most of the story Bethany McLean and Peter Elkind tell in their book has already appeared in newspaper and magazine accounts and in other, rush-to-publish books that hit the market during or shortly after the events described. However, these authors have assembled what may be the single most comprehensive, detailed account and written it like an anecdote-rich, lively business-based novel. We do wish they had included a timeline and a list of sources, since they have had the benefit of being able to draw on all of that other work, on indictments and on testimony before courts and Congress, but their account is engrossing and complete. If you read just one book on the Enron scandal, we believe this may be the book to read. ... Read more

Editorial Review

Now in its Eighth Edition, <b>CRIMINAL LAW AND ITS PROCESSES: Cases and Materials</b> maintains great success as the longtime leading book in Criminal Law. In addition to a highly respected and renowned authorship, this scholarly gem is distinguished by the intellectual integrity of its thematic framework, its teachability and the wealth and depth of its content. In addition to focusing on basic principles, analytical problems enhance student learning by testing their thought process, applications and interactions in context.<p class=copymedium><b>This edition preserves the outstanding qualities that have earned it distinguished success:</b><li class=copymedium>a highly respected authorship¿Kadish, Schulhofer, and new co-author Steiker¿comprised of nationally recognized and renowned scholars<li class=copymedium>cohesive intellectual framework¿ by viewing the law both as a system for apportioning blame in accordance with moral norms and as an instrument of social control, it provides an analytical tool with which students can interpret and understand doctrine<li class=copymedium>a cases-and-notes pedagogy with excerpted materials, questions, and problems<li class=copymedium>a focus on developing an understanding of principles and rules applicable to all crimes, rather than the detailed and disjointed elements of many particular crimes<li class=copymedium>problems that enhance student understanding of the basic principles by testing their applications and interactions in the context of particular offenses<li class=copymedium>in-depth coverage of rape, homicide, and theft</ul><p class=copymedium><b>The Eighth Edition has been carefully updated to maintain the integrity of its framework, preserve its challenging content and enhance its teachability:</b> <li class=copymedium>it achieves continuity with its predecessors and makes little change in organization or coverage<li class=copymedium>most principal teaching cases have been retained, with recent cases and illustrations added<li class=copymedium>editing throughout enhances the transparency of the organization and accessibility of the notes and questions, providing greater clarity and ease of teaching<li class=copymedium>organization is designed to permit ready adaptation for longer or shorter courses<li class=copymedium>a new section gives detailed attention to issues of statutory interpretation<li class=copymedium>a new chapter on Discretion allows for study of the legal framework that governs charging, bargaining and sentencing, and the role they play in shaping determinations of culpability and punishment<li class=copymedium>greater attention is focused on the ways that sentencing considerations and the growth of federal criminal law have affected traditional criminal law principles and practices<li class=copymedium>new attention is focused on international human rights and their implications for American criminal law<li class=copymedium>more thorough examination of common law vocabulary and doctrine and a clarified organization enable students to differentiate more systematically between the common law and Model Penal Code approaches<li class=copymedium>a completely revised section on the death penalty deals more fully with contemporary debates and recent Supreme Court decisions</ul> ... Read more

Reviews

Great Criminal Law Casebook, October 7, 2004
If you could call a casebook awesome I would use those words here. This book is great for outlining and it leads you through Criminal Law step by step. You'll be amazed at your deep understanding of Criminal Law when you finish with this casebook.

Great fun for the law hobbyist, March 1, 2002
I bought this book on a whim. For a long time I had been interested in law and wanted to see what studying it was all about. I don't think I could have picked a better place to start. From the word go this book delivered interesting cases with in-depth analysis at the end of each one. The analysis was especially helpful in picking apart the important points of law that the case represented. Now when I watch Law and Order and The Practice, I can tell my girlfriend about what is going on (in the legal parts) and sound like a total know-it-all, which is totally awesome.

Concise, August 23, 1999
For first year law students it is a must. Reflection on this book even for the most seasoned attorney is recommended as well.

Great 1st year book!, December 14, 1999
OK, 1Ls of the world...this book is organized very well for outlining. The text covers all of the areas of criminal law, peppered with interesting cases drawn from around the country, and really does a good job of giving the reader a variety of perspectives on the contentious issues that comprise criminal law.

As described, February 12, 2010
Great book, just as described in the title and picture. Saved about $[...] bucks off the school bookstore shelf.

No answer, August 18, 2010
I have submitted an urgent message asking when i can realistically expect my delivery, in case i need to cancel my order and no response.

Law Textbooks, June 4, 2010
I would definitely purchase from this seller again. I purchased a used law book that is in great condition and the price was easy on the pocket book considering the high cost of law textbooks. Also, the seller was more than prompt. The item shipped the same day I made the purchase, and I received the book much sooner than I ever expected. Highly recommend anyone, especially law students, using this source for quality, affordable books. ... Read more

Editorial Review

Retaining the late Jesse Dukeminier's signature blend of wit, erudition, insight, and playfulness, Wills, Trusts, and Estates, now in its Eighth Edition, continues to offer interesting cases, well written notes, and a logical organization. A stellar example of a great casebook, Wills, Trusts, and Estates features: Eminently clear presentation of topics; Comprehensive substantive coverage; Inspired case selection; Engaging notes, questions, and problems that connect and highlight legal themes and principles; Humorous and illustrative cartoons, art, photographs, and other images; With many new and revised notes, questions, and problems, the carefully updated Eighth Edition explores: New developments in law reform by the ALI and NCCUSL, such as: The 2008 Amendments to the Uniform Probate Code, including validation of notarized wills, reformation of wills for mistake, and a reworking of the spousal share; The Uniform Power of Attorney Act; Further progress in the Restatement (Third) of Trusts and Restatement (Third) of Property; Ongoing developments in the law, in such areas as: Inheritance rights for same-sex partners; The posthumous right of publicity; The power of an agent to alter an incompetent principal's estate plan; Liberalized rules of trust modification and termination, and of trustee removal; Standing for donors in suits against the trustees of charitable trusts; Perpetual trusts and self-settled asset protection trusts; Increasingly important topics such as: The movement to cure will execution defects and reform mistakes in wills; Fiduciary administration and trust investment law; Will contests, particularly the law of capacity and insane delusion.

Co-authors Robert Sitkoff and James Lindgren took great care to preserve the voice and spirit of Jesse Dukeminier, while fulfilling the trust and expectation among users for timely and relevant coverage, cases, and note material. ... Read more

Reviews

Unnecessary update, September 25, 2009
This book is a good book, but the update is not needed. My friend next to me in class has the seventh edition of this text and comparing the eighth edition to the previous it is obvious that the publisher is just going after more money. So few pages have been updated, so few cases have been added, they could have easily issued a paperback supplement to the seventh edition and saved students money. Putting my objections to how the textbook industry operates aside, this book is a decent read. The authors do a good job of explaining the law and the cases are edited fairly well. I'm in my third year of law school and have had several different texts by now. I would place this one on the better end. The text itself - 7 of 10. Was it a necessary update - 0 of 10.

One of the best textbooks I have used for law school, December 4, 2009
This is a great textbook. It nicely balances foundational materials with the cases. The layout of the book makes for an easy outline. The rules are clear and thoroughly laid out in each section - I barely needed the supplements I bought.

I looked at someone's outline based on the last version of the text and there were a lot of cases that were missing and UPC sections that were incorrect. I did not compare books side by side but my prof. focused a lot on the things that have recently changed so the old version of the text would not have been that helpful for our class. ... Read more

Editorial Review

Examples & Explanations: Contracts, Fourth Edition is an accessible, comprehensive treatment of first-year contracts topics. This popular and well-written study aid speaks clearly and directly to students and is designed to provide them with information, examples, and analysis in appropriate complexity and detail.

Important features of this highly regarded study aid include:

Editorial Review

Safe, efficient, code-compliant electrical installations are made simple with the latest publication of this widely popular resource. Like its highly successful previous editions, the National Electrical Code? 2011 SOFT COVER combines solid, thorough, research-based content with the tools you need to build an in-depth understanding of the most important topics. It provides the full text of the updated code regulations alongside expert commentary from code specialists, offering code rationale, clarifications for new and updated rules, and practical, real-world advice on how to apply the code. New to the 2011 edition are articles including first-time Article 399 on Outdoor, Overhead Conductors with over 600 volts, first-time Article 694 on Small Wind Electric Systems, first-time Article 840 on Premises Powered Broadband Communications Systems, and more. This winning combination has created a valuable reference for those in or entering careers in electrical design, installation, inspection, and safety. ... Read more

Reviews

great price, November 12, 2010
amazon had the best deal on the new NEC code book, which is required reading for those in the business. Fast shipping, all good.

2011 nec code book, October 31, 2010
book arrived 1 day before it was supposed to in perfect shape ... Read more

Editorial Review

The focused coverage of Property Examples and Explanations, Third Edition, along with the proven Examples and Explanations format, which combines textual material with well-written examples, explanations, and questions that test the reader's understanding of the material covered, makes this text an invaluable means for helping students master the intricacies of property law. Among the features that have made this study aid a success:
Eminently clear and readable text;
Six-part topical organization that matches the coverage of most first-year property courses and follows the organization of the best selling property casebook by Dukeminier, Krier, Alexander & Schill;
Rich pedagogy includes boldfaced legal terms and visual aids, such as charts and diagrams, especially for common-law estates, a topic that lends itself to diagrammatic presentation;
The authors address principal cases used in most leading casebooks;
Skilled and experienced authorship by long-time teachers and scholars of property law.

New to the Third Edition:
Updated coverage of takings to include recent Supreme Court cases, Tahoe-Sierra Preservation Council Inc. v. Tahoe Regional Planning Agency, Kelo v. New London, and Lingle v. Chevron U.S.A.;
Expanded introduction to trusts with clear and detailed descriptions of a trust, a grantor, a trustee, a life beneficiary, and a remainderman;
New substantive material added to coverage of:
The recording acts;
The Third Restatement of Property concerning Servitudes (covenants and equitable servitudes);
Private Nuisance, Chapter 27, adjacent and subjacent support;
Updated coverage of the Rule Against Perpetuities;
Many examples and explanations have been revised for greater clarity and effectiveness;
Language in the text has been simplified where needed for even greater accessibility.

With its focused coverage, concise format, and problem-based format, Property Examples and Explanations, Third Edition, continues to provide Property students with the help and confidence they need to master this difficult first-year course. ... Read more

Reviews

When reading the reviews below understand they are for old edition, June 28, 2005
First---as I've reviewed for the other E&E's, the database is melding the reviews together.

I'm speaking of the newest edition which is quite good. I laughed reading the reviews below where people compare these to emanuel's and gilbert's when really they are a different breed.

If you do your job and outline and supplement with E&E you really can't go wrong. They provide explanations and practice, not a "hold your hand and walk you through everything and do your outlining for you" method that apparently a lot of students want--hence the sales of emanuels and gilbert's.

In sum, if you are looking for a comprehensive outline on law get a commercial outline. If you are looking for explanations and real practice, take a look at these. As the reviewer below stated, this newer edition is definately worth a shot.

Make sure you're getting the new edition, June 5, 2005
The two editions appear to be tied together in Amazon's database. Reviews given to one appear in both places. In my opinion, the Second Edition (ISBN 0735539790) resolves a lot of the criticisms that I have heard and read about the first edition. Let the reviews scare you away from the old edition, but give the new one a look. It's worth it.

AMAZING!!, June 25, 2004
I am a Harvard law student and I went CRAZY preparing for exams. (as did everyone else) but a wise 3L gave me some advice that saved my life. Here is goes: Use Gilbert's on Prop to learn the black letter law of the cases you will be studying. Then use West Group's High Court Summaries to figure out in simpler terms your case. Read your cases. After you learn each subject, do the problems in Examples and Explanations to really apply your knowledge. Just working through each of the examples and seeing the subtle "shadings" of the law was enormously helpful. I know a lot of people get frusterated by this book because the examples can be difficult, but I found them to be harder than my exams which made testing a breeze. After using E & E, you may have lost sight of the forest for all the trees... So for the week before the exam, the nutshell guide should become your bible. It is clear, concise, and presents difficult but very clarifying examples of applications of laws after each law you learn. It was the perfect compact tool to "bring you back into the forest." I got an A in property (am VERY proud of myself) and it was patly because of this book. I highly suggest you buy.

Not up to Examples & Explanations Standards!, March 20, 2002
I have all of the first year E&E books and this one is not nearly of the same quality as the rest of the series.

It's confusing. There is no natural progression in explanations. I felt like I was reading another confusing casebook with bad examples!

Burke and Snoe need to take a look at how Glannon does it for Torts and Civil Procedure before they write the second edition.

A great disappointment., April 24, 2002
Don't waste your money on the first edition; get the Gilbert's outline instead. Then, if you have questions, just ask your prof.

Compared to the Examples & Explanations for Contracts (Blum), Torts (Glannon), and the astounding Civil Procedure (Glannon), this book was a big let-down. Either Aspen needs to have some student reviewers, or the editors at Aspen need to get their act together and compare what is in the book with a commercial outline.

In our study group, we randomly turned to two examples & explanations. In one case, the authors said that they differed on the outcome, but only gave one authors opinion (Implied Warranty of Habitability, chp 20, example #10). In another (on Dower, Chp 14., example 1), the answer is flat-out wrong.

I do like that the chapters are short, and not intimidating, but the explanations have to be beefed up and well-developed. They are not in this book, and I cannot recommend anyone purchase it. I'm not wasting any time using it in preparation for finals.

Gotta side with Harvard kid, October 13, 2004
I am only a mediocre student at a mediocre school. But property is our thing and our property prof is our toughest--she was the top grad at Stanford or something and heads up the whole environmental movement out here in the Pacific Northwest. Property was my hardest class by far, yet I passed. I owe passing to this book, because the class was all way over my head. This book gave me what I missed in class and got me to survive the worst exam I ever took. All 1L law students need it. Anyone who is not a lawyer but finds themselves needing to understand basic principles of property law (maybe you are involved in a suit against your local zoning board and need someone to explain to you what your lawyer is saying) needs this book. In fact, if you own your own home or business, you probably need this book. I used to own my own home before I changed careers and went back to college. If I had this book back then, I would have been a lot more saavy in dealing with my obnoxious neighbors. Heck, if you rent you need this book so your landlord doesn't screw you. I think the reason some reviewers hated it is that they are the geeks of your law school class who got all A's without trying. They probably hated Cliff's Notes, too.

A MUST HAVE!, March 7, 2003
Of all the property hornbooks this is the only one which will translate into a high grade on a law school exam. The Moynihan book is to small and covers only Prop 1 material. The Singer book is to voluminous, this book covers every testable subject and leaves the discussion of untestable material to the property nerds. Look no further, this hornbook is all you need to get an A in property, if you actually read it it of course.

Highly Recommended, April 27, 2002
This a a wonderful supplement to the Property Textbook by Dukeminier and Krier (published by Aspen Law and Business--same publisher as the Examples and Explations Series). It creates a good framework to support and bring together what you learn in a first year law school property class, and it helps solidify in your mind some of those amorphous property law concepts. It it not a stand alone book to teach the law.

Do not attempt this course without this book, May 13, 2007
You will read the cases and go to class, but you can't touch this subject until you've answered fifty questions WRONG. It can either be in this book or on the exam. You decide.

Great as usual, January 15, 2005
Buy this and High Court summaries keyed to your casebook and you're set. I also used the Gilberts and Sum and Substance 1L tapes while commuting to school--the best preparation with the least effort.
Property isn't the easiest 1L subject but you get the hang of it. This book does help but it's not as easy going as Civ Pro, Ks or Torts, for instance. Still, a great help considering the subject. ... Read more

Reviews

Genuinely helpful, September 27, 2010
The book can be a little complex until you catch up to the right chapters in your lecture's casebook. But after covering the material in class, this book further solidifies everything learned in lecture. Glannon is good, no question about it! :) ... Read more

Editorial Review

THINK AND GROW RICH and THE LAW OF SUCCESS - The Holy Grails of the Success Philosophy: Napoleon Hill’s complete and original formulas to achievement.

2 BOOKS IN 1 - The Ultimate Self-Improvement and Success Secrets Value Pack.

THINK AND GROW RICH is the most important financial book ever written. Napoleon Hill researched more than forty millionaires to find out what made them the men that they were. In this book he imparts that knowledge to you. Once you've read this book you will understand what gives certain people an edge over everyone else. By following the advice laid out clearly in this book you'll be the one with an edge. It's time to stop wondering what it's like to be rich and start knowing. This book has changed countless lives and it can change yours!

THE LAW OF SUCCESS is a manual course with 16 fundamental principles. This is the master volume of the extraordinary work that began the career of Napoleon Hill.It is the GOLDEN KEY to Hill’s thought - his complete and unabridged mind-power method for achieving your goals. After interviewing dozens of industrialists, diplomats, thought leaders, and successful people from all walks of life, the young Hill distilled what he learned into these fifteen core lessons, organized with an introductory chapter, “The Master Mind,� that serves as a primer to Hill’s overall philosophy. As Hill saw it, these lessons work as a “mind stimulant� that “will cause the student to organize and direct to a DEFINITE end the forces of his or her mind, thus harnessing the stupendous power which most people waste.�

Napoleon Hill's masterpieces inspired millions of readers, there is no substitute for everyone who wants to grasp the full range of Hill’s ideas and tap their transformative power.


A B O U T T H E A U T H O R

Napoleon Hill was born in 1883, in Virginia, and died in 1970 after a long and successful career as a lecturer, an author, and a consultant to business leaders. He was one of the earliest authors of personal-success literature. Hill's works examined the power of personal beliefs, and the role they play in personal success. His 1937 work "Think and Grow Rich" is the all-time bestseller in its field, having sold more than 15 million copies worldwide, and setting the standard for today’s motivational thinking. "The Law of Success" was his major work. ... Read more

Editorial Review

Professors Fischl and Paul explain law school exams in ways no one has before, all with an eye toward improving the reader's performance. The book begins by describing the difference between educational cultures that praise students for 'right answers,' and the law school culture that rewards nuanced analysis of ambiguous situations in which more than one approach may be correct. Enormous care is devoted to explaining precisely how and why legal analysis frequently produces such perplexing situations.

But the authors don't stop with mere description. Instead, Getting to Maybe teaches how to excel on law school exams by showing the reader how legal analysis can be brought to bear on examination problems. The book contains hints on studying and preparation that go well beyond conventional advice. The authors also illustrate how to argue both sides of a legal issue without appearing wishy-washy or indecisive. Above all, the book explains why exam questions may generate feelings of uncertainty or doubt about correct legal outcomes and how the student can turn these feelings to his or her advantage.

In sum, although the authors believe that no exam guide can substitute for a firm grasp of substantive material, readers who devote the necessary time to learning the law will find this book an invaluable guide to translating learning into better exam performance. ... Read more

Reviews

The Secrets of Success are Secret No More, July 26, 2000
Getting to Maybe is a Godsend. Even for those of you who've already finished first-year, it's well worth getting.

I am the author of Planet Law School: What You Need to Know Before You Go--but Didn't Know to Ask. Unfortunately, Getting to Maybe was first published in 1999, a year after PLS, so I could not recommend it in PLS. Hence this posting, now. Even though the authors and I are competitors, and our books are published by different firms, I urge all law students to get Getting to Maybe. (For one thing, the authors' critique of the IRAC model is succinct and devastating.)

If you take doing well in law school (and becoming a good attorney) seriously, this book is a necessity.

It's so well-written that I had to force myself to put it down, and ended up reading it in just two sittings, of several hours each.

The earlier review, about the teaching of Tantric Yoga, in exactly right. With Getting to Maybe, the secrets are secret no more.

Impressive rigor, July 18, 2002
The aim of this book is to help current law students perform well on law school exams. Law school exams are famously ambiguous; hence the title of the book.

The title of the book is a play on the title of a classic book about the art of negotiation, called _Getting to Yes_. Implicit in _Getting to Maybe_ is that, unlike a negotiation, performance on law school exams does not require an exact answer or resolution.

The method by which these law professors explain this concept is especially interesting. In connection with their academic research, they propose to break down law school exams into small components, and thoroughly analyze those components. The result is a very substantial and comprehensive analysis of the structure of law school exams and the skills required to do well on these exams.

You may be asking how the professors purport to explain _all_ law school exams, for surely there are professors for whose exams these methods will not work. These professors make the interesting point that in the United States, law education is fairly uniform, and, therefore, the skills required to perform well on law school exams are fairly uniform, as well.

I read this book prior to starting law school. I found it useful primarily because I have read a number of other books about legal reasoning and the study of law and the law school experience that are more basic than the material in this book. If this is your first book regarding the study of law or peformance in law school, I would advise putting it aside in favor of a book offering a broader overview of law, its study, and law school.

Worth your time, December 21, 2003
I am a student at a top 5 law school. This book does not outline a specific system for taking exams, so if that is what you are looking for, look else where. What this book does provide is a good overview of the different types of gray areas that appear time and time again on exams. This will help you "spot the issues" and give you a feel for the kind of stuff your profs want to see written about come exam time. There are also plenty of general exam taking tips that area helpful. I have read many exam taking books, and this is the best of them. Read it early in the semester. It will help you focus on the important stuff in class and in the reading.

Everyone Needs Help at some point..., December 26, 2000
Whether you want to believe it or not...taking a law school exam is unlike any exam you took in undergrad. I found that out after I bombed my first exam, and a friend recommended this book. If you do nothing else, skip to the part where it talks about how to write an exam, how to address all the issues that your prof is looking for and "czar of the universe." "Czar" was a section that I found VERY helpful when I had to write a dissent for an exam! My school didn't really tell any of us 1Ls how to take an exam and I wish I had read this book before I even started. Don't worry about making law review or any of those other "extras" that people seem so concerned about--because if you can't perform well on an exam and spot issues in an allotted time, law review will be the least of your concerns. My contracts prof even suggested this book when prepping for his exam.

Bought this (almost) too late - don't make the same mistake!, May 16, 2006
I bought this book after my third year of law school, after being put on academic probation. Basically, I had to get my grades up in a term and a half (summer term plus a full load in the fall), or I wouldn't graduate. I wish I hadn't let things get that bad before I read this book! After reading the book and applying its theory, I was able to raise my GPA from 1.7 to 2.6. This book made a huge difference in the way I thought about classes, the way I took notes in class, the way I outlined... and I felt way more confident going into my exams. And my grades improved. That's all there is to it.

Great for improving exam writing, legal analysis, and writing skills, April 15, 2006
In my first year of law school, my legal writing tutor recommended this book. After reading it, my grades went up, which I believe was partially because of how this book helped me improve writing law school exams. It helps new law students understand what it means to "think like a lawyer." That is, it gives students a framework for analyzing complex issues.

Reading this book also significantly increased my performance in our legal writing class. At the end of my first year, my professor said my writing went from nearly the worst in the class to the best. This progress was a direct result from reading this book, improving my writing organization, and practice.

I highly recommend this book for new law students who want a head-start improving their legal analysis skills, and especially for students struggling with their legal writing. Law students have so much to read, it's hard to find more time for a book like this. But even reading a few chapters will provide students with a new paradigm for their legal analysis and writing.

This book would make a great gift for a student prior to starting law school because it is easy to read and introduces readers to subjects they will cover in their first-year courses.

Expensive and Not Helpful, November 12, 2005
I read this book early in the fall of my 1L year. At the time, I thought that the book was useful and that reading it would give me an edge over my classmates. In retrospect, the book did not give me any edge and reading the book was a waste of time.

The book does give you confidence. It leads you to think that you will be able to take apart a legal exam, reduce it to its essentials, and reason in a manner that your professors will appreciate. I guess it might be worth your reading if you need a shot of self-confidence.

But I do not think that the book will make much of a difference in how anyone does on law school exams. The authors' main point is to look for ambiguities (or "forks"). When you see something on your exam that looks ambiguous, try to explore all the ambiguities. In other words, argue in the alternative--i.e., point out that if X is said to occur, then Y results, whereas if A is said to occur, then B results. Let your professors know that you can see the little things that might produce completely different legal results.

This method is great as a theory. However, it is difficult to apply the method in an actual test setting. I remember that my first exam during my 1L year was in criminal law. I was given a long fact pattern, and I tried to apply the "Getting to Maybe" method. One problem I found was that I was pushed for time. It was not possible to discuss all the ambiguities in the amount of time allowed. The method the book suggested was just not possible in the context of my three-hour bluebook exam. There was no way I could explore all the ambiguities on the exam the way the authors suggest.

Another problem I have with the book is that it is not really giving you any special advice. Reduced to a sentence, the authors are just telling you not to be conclusory with your answers--in other words, show that certain items in the fact pattern could be argued multiple ways. This is hardly novel law school exam advice worth $22.00!

I have read reviews by people who claim that this book helped them make law review or whatever. I also know many people who have read this book and have gotten below average law school grades. I do not think that this book will make a difference in how anyone does in law school. If you are one of those people who has to read everything, because you don't want your classmates to have read something you haven't read, then by all means read this. If, on the other hand, you are concerned about using your time effectively, then you are probably better off working on your outlines or reviewing your lecture notes rather than wasting your time reading this book.

Avoid Commercial Outlines and Study Groups, October 27, 2002
Having graduated with high honors from one of the top five law schools, I relied on several of these books to identify the appropriate approach to taking law school exams. I applied the approach as follows: (1) read only those assignments provided by the professor (ignore commercial outlines, etc.); (2) take extensive notes of everything the professor says in class (and do not write down any student comments or student answers to Socratic questions); (3) organize your notes of the professor's lectures into your own outline; (4) read the professor's prior exam files, including any student answers selected by the professor as "model answers"; and (5) practice taking the professor's old exams in the few days leading up to exam day. The rationale is that your professor will be looking for you to spot those issues that he or she views as important. The more of these issues you spot, the higher your exam grade will be. Ditch those commercial outlines and study group meetings. In addition to Getting to Maybe, you should also prepare for law school by conditioning yourself to what its competition will feel like. Two excellent books that accomplish this goal are Scott Turow's One L (Harvard in the 1970s) and Scott Gaille's The Law Review (2002 book about competition at The University of Chicago Law School).

A Book Worth Your Time, January 3, 2007
I started my first year at law school with the impression--the conviction!--that someone was going to take time out of his/her lecture schedule to teach us how to write law school exams. This, of course, never happened and, after bungling through a practice midterm with a slipshod IRAC, I decided to seek some advice. My law school's academic preparation (resuscitation?) program recommended this book, and I picked it up from Amazon several weeks prior to finals.

I've generally considered test-taking "manuals" to be overly simplistic and far too general to be effective. But this book is different. It doesn't prescribe worthless "strategies" for stock scenarios (like those dreadful LSAT books), but instead attempts to get you to rethink your approach to the exam--from preparation to execution. What impressed me the most about _Getting to Maybe_ is that it makes a point not to provide pat answers, or to patch up poor preparation. Rather, it suggests new ways to think about the law, and about the scenarios that appear on law school exams.

One caveat is that, to get anything out of this book, you need to pick it up well before finals: this book tries to get you to approach law school differently, and this is something that can't be done a day before the exam. This book is worth your time--not only is the prose far more lively and entertaining than, say, that of International Shoe, but you really come away from _Getting to Maybe_ feeling like the effort was worthwhile.

An essential tool for law students, March 20, 2007
I am a law professor at the oldest night law school in San Francisco who has struggled for years to communicate to my stdents how to prepare for exams. I wish someone had told me about this book years ago. It explains cogently and distinctly why law school exams are different than those exams you did so well on in college (or you wouldn't be in law school) and why you need to start thinking differently. The book goes through the different types of questions one mught find on an exam and shows how to address them. It also provides numerous tips on how to study and how to approach exam writing. The book also does a great job of explaining a theme I have pushed for years --- that exam-writing skills are really the writing and thinking skills students will need when they become lawyers. It should be required reading in law schools. And it wouldn't hurt law professors to read the book either. ... Read more

Editorial Review

Comprehensive, relevant, and meticulously up-to-date, BUSINESS LAW, Eleventh Edition, combines in-depth coverage of business law in a unique student-friendly format. It delivers a classic blend of black letter law and cutting-edge coverage of contemporary issues and cases - making the law accessible, interesting, and relevant for readers. It provides an excellent assortment of cases, ranging from precedent-setting landmarks to the most recent decisions. Ethical, global, and e-commerce themes are integrated throughout the text, which also emphasizes critical-thinking skills. Numerous features and exercises ensure that students have a solid understanding of chapter concepts. In addition, the text's unmatched support materials include innovative online study tools (available on the text's companion web site: www.cengage.com/blaw/clarkson) that will help maximize efforts and improve results. It's no wonder that BUSINESS LAW, Eleventh Edition, is used by more colleges and universities than any other business law text. ... Read more

Reviews

Fantastic, September 11, 2008
As a student of Business and having a limited acquaintance with law previously, I have to admit that this text is worth every penny. For those of us embarking on an entrepreneurial path, knowledge in the realms of torts, constitutional law, copyrights, cyberlaw, etc. is absolutely imperative.

The text contains recent cases, lower court decision, their backgrounds, abridged text submitted by the court and decisions made by the intermediate/supreme appellate courts. The authors present the text in a format not too difficult to read, but not easy enough to skim through.

Congratulations to Clarkson, Miller, Jentz and Cross for another fantastic text.

Everyone needs to read, November 8, 2009
There were a few sections of highlighting and underlining, but the text was still readable. I am finding this book very interesting. It contains a lot of information-a little overwhelming; however, gives a good overview of the principles of law. It is my favorite book this term. Most books I put back up for sell-I think I am going to keep this one.

Business Law: Text and Cases 11th Edition, October 1, 2008
Great Book. A lot of information with many cases to teach you along the way.

BLAW, February 10, 2009
-Very intense book.
-Every chapter is concise, yet full of important content.
-We tried to outline the chapters, and found we could not leave anything out, because every line seemed important.
-Despite these sentiments, it is easy to follow and logically written.

Typos, missing content, and errors oh my!, November 6, 2010
I got the Kindle version after I already had a hardback version for a Business Law class. The hardback version was fine, but what I found in the Kindle version was that the number of missing passages, typos, and errors was very high.

In one situation, one of the cases was actually missing! I was asked to read in class by my instructor, and had to borrow a book after a few minutes of struggling to understand what case he was talking about. I believe that was in chapter 9, but can't remember.

In other cases the formatting is rendered useless, and if things are in an ordered numbered list, they are just jumbled together poorly.

I just found in Chapter 10, several sentences that were cut off, and mashed together so incomprehensibly that I had to refer back to the paper version. I am sincerely grateful I have the paper version because there is no way I could have answered that take home test question with that passage because it doesn't make sense at all.

It is still useful, for the most part, to take to class, but I would not rely on it for tests. The information is just all to often missing, or has typos that render it hard to understand.

I'm actually very disappointed in this because I was going to buy all my textbooks in Kindle format if I could next quarter, but now I'm not so sure I should.

Extremely thorough - a keeper., August 1, 2009
Out of all the textbooks I have read through, this is one of the only books that I am planning on keeping due to its value in working in business.

This book would be great for any of the following people:

Business Lawyer
Entrepreneur, starting their own business
Insurance Agent
Student learning about Business (Undergrad or Graduate, either)

This book had a lot of information that I took from it and helped me figure out a lot about lawsuits in business.

Clarkson, Miller, Jentz and Cross make Business Law awesome., January 6, 2009
A great book with thoughful summaries and perfectly arranged chapters. The real-life cases make the subject matter much more enjoyable. End-of-chapter sample cases make you think, and the online resources are helpful too.
... Read more

Editorial Review

SOFTCOVER VERSION: Featuring time-tested safety concepts and the very latest industry standards in material design, the 2009 International Building Code? offers up-to-date, comprehensive insight into the regulations surrounding the design and installation of building systems. It provides valuable structural, fire-, and life- safety provisions that cover means of egress, interior finish requirements, roofs, seismic engineering, innovative construction technology, and occupancy classifications. This content is developed in the context ofthe broad-based principles that facilitate the use of new materials and building designs, making this an indispensable reference guide for anyone seeking a strong working knowledge of building systems. ... Read more

Reviews

Cheaper at Amazon, November 30, 2009
Ordered the set for work. This is the least expensive price I found and free shipping.

Must have in 2010..., October 10, 2010
This is required for certification in 2010 (unless you can schedule a 2006 paper and pencil test). Bought this through Amazon and pricing was similar to ICC though delivery options much better.

Nicely bound code book, July 16, 2010
This is a reasonably priced building code in a nicely bound book. I HAVE to have a code for work and the Amazon price was the most exciting part.
Not your relaxing read but informative.
Amazon, thanks for the price break...I'll be back.

IBC 2009, March 8, 2010
The International Building Code. Pretty much speaks for itself. Again, I buy from Amazon because of the excellent customer service and quick turnaround.

2009 international building code, February 23, 2010
what can you say about a code book. amazon had it at a better price than school and received it within a week of order. no problems.

WOW, October 27, 2009
I ORDER THIS ITEM LAST SEPTEMBER 24 AND NO IDEA WHEN I WILL HAVE MY BOOK. THIS IS A BASIC BOOK-CODE FOR ANALYSIS AND DESIGN. ... Read more

Editorial Review

The only book on tax deductions specifically for residential landlords!

Named a "Top 10 Real Estate Book" by Robert Bruss, syndicated real estate columnist

If you own rental property, you should be taking advantage of the many tax write-offs available. Every Landlord's Tax Deduction Guide gives residential landlords the plain-English guide they need to save money on taxes -- without the services of a pricey accounting firm.

This book explains how to maximize your deductions without drawing the ire of the IRS. Find out how to:

Editorial Review

Arguably the most valuable reference tool available to the legal community, Black's Pocket Dictionary provides more than 10,000 clear, concise, and precise definitions. The essential companion dictionary to the Standard edition and as a stand-alone tool, Black's Pocket Dictionary also includes a dictionary guide and the complete U.S. Constitution. Black's is cited more than any other legal dictionary, comes recommended by law faculty, and is available in the pocket format and a variety of other useful editions. ... Read more

Editorial Review

Corporations: Examples & Explanations is a practical and straightforward guide that has won enduring popularity by demystifying corporate law for students with no business background. Through clear introductions and visual aids, students are able to grasp the rules of corporate law and apply them in context, using the examples.Students struggling to understand corporate law will get more out of their casebook assignments and classroom experience if you steer them toward the help they need. Alan R. Palmiter's Corporations: Examples & Explanations is the leading study guide in this area an authoritative, timely, and student-friendly aid to a more complete understanding of basic coverage, now in its Sixth Edition. ... Read more

Editorial Review

For more than a century Black's has been the gold standard for the language of law. Today it is the most widely cited law book in the world. Edited by Bryan A. Garner, the world s leading legal lexicographer, the 9th Edition is the most authoritative, comprehensive law dictionary ever published. It contains more than 45,000 terms and includes: 2,000 more terms than the 8th Edition and 19,000 more than the 7th Edition including click fraud, Code Adam, collaborative law, ecoterrorism, environmental tort, friendly subpoena, happy-slapping, honor crime, secret detention, Schumer box, and super precedent. The date when selected terms were first used in English-language contexts, especially in judicial opinions. Heightened accuracy having more than 200 lawyers around the country reviewed terms. Definitions of more than 1,000 law-related abbreviations and acronyms. Almost 3,000 quotations drawn from sources over five centuries. Alternate spellings or equivalent expressions for more than 5,300 terms and West Key Numbers. ... Read more

Editorial Review

A guide to effective, clear, and powerful legal writing, encouraging writers to challenge conventions. Shows how to organize ideas, create and refine prose, sharpen editing skills, and clear language of jargon. Teaches straight thinking, featuring examples and four model documents. Softcover, hardcover also available. DLC: Legal composition. ... Read more

Reviews

The Great Garner Strikes Another Blow for Good Prose, March 30, 2003
Bryan A. Garner is leading what might be a Quixotic charge to make lawyers write clear, clean, unambiguous and even interesting prose. This book is a recent addition to the Garner arsenal, which includes the excellent The Winning Brief and A Dictionary of Modern Legal Usage. The anonymous writer from New York who slams Garner is wrong. He claims that traditional legal drafting has stood the test of time and is readily understood by judges, who ultimately have to interpret it. If the writing were clear to begin with, the parties wouldn't get to a judge. They'd likely settle. And that writer ignores the fact that there are thousands, perhaps millions, of legal decisions over contract disputes, almost all arising from documents that were "traditionally drafted." And different judges can decide differently about the meaning of a clause. That writer askes rhetorically whether Garner would insist that mathematicians use prose to make their work clear to laypeople. The rhetoric ignores the fact that mathematics is its own language. Legal writing is written in English, the same English used to buy groceries, talk lovingly to your spouse, and complain to the doctor about what ails you. There is no valid reason a contract should be beyond the comprehension of a layperson, other than lawyers' need to feel like they're elevated professionals with a grip on arcana. And the writer's praise of "Notwithstanding anything to the contrary" as an incantatory phrase in contracts overlooks an obvious improvement: "DESPITE anything in this agreement to the contrary . . . ." Garner is a brilliant, insightful teacher who cares deeply about the language and its highest and best use. We know what happens with legalese: litigation and contention and noncomprehension. Give plain English a try, with Garner as your guide to Aquinas's trinity of wholeness, harmony, radiance, and of course clarity clarity clarity.

Common sense for people who need it., December 3, 2002
The point of Garner's book is to write for the reader. This book would be helpful to any lawyer, if only because it forces us to think about how and why we are writing.

Too often, writers treat style manuals as if they were infallible--written on stone tablets by a divine author. Garner's book is not perfect and cannot be applied with a thoughtless rigor. As an appellate lawyer, I generally try to follow Garner's style, but sometimes it doesn't fit.

The corporate lawyer who complained about the book did not read it closely enough. Garner opposes thoughtless attachment to legalese, but he acknowledges that sometimes legal writers have to use terms of art. He also urges writers to be concise. I don't know where the corporate lawyer got the idea that Garner advocates "two pages of easily accessible prose over two sentences of conventional drafting," but it is not from this book.

Accept or reject Garner's advice as you wish, but thinking about clear writing will make you a better lawyer. Most of what Garner writes is common sense, but it's common sense legal writers often lack.

A Wonderful Guide!, September 3, 2002
I strongly agree with five of the six amazon.com reviews, which are highly favorable and award five stars. This book is beautifully written, well organized, and eminently sound. Garner tackles the difficult job of convincing staid, inflexible lawyers to abandon the age-old practice of using incomprehensible legalese and thus ensuring that their contracts will have to be translated for those whose lives are affected by them and later interpreted in costly litigation.

Most prestigious lawyers, law firms, and judges strongly favor Garner's plain-language approach to drafting. For example, the late Charles Alan Wright, a brilliant Supreme Court lawyer and noted author, called Garner "the world's leading authority on the language of the law." And the Texas Supreme Court enlisted Garner's aid in redrafting the Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure. So it's hard to believe that judges would generally prefer "conventional drafting" over the clear, accessible language that Garner advocates.

The five five-star reviews of the book on this website came from a law professor, a practicing lawyer, a book reviewer, and two others who appear to be nonlawyers. I wondered if the anonymous New York corporate lawyer who gave the book a meager one star knew something that everyone else didn't. So I checked for reviews from highly respected sources. And I found that Harvard Law Review, the Law Library Journal, and Trial have all published very favorable reviews of this book.

The plain-language drafting recommended in this book is widely viewed as beneficial, not only by nonlawyers, but also by highly skilled lawyers who seek to avoid ambiguity and litigation and who strive to improve the tarnished image of lawyers generally. I believe that Garner's approach would be condemned only by a few rich corporate lawyers who thrive by making themselves indispensable in drafting, translating, and later litigating the long, dense form contracts that they produce.

Plain English is Shorter, More Precise., February 17, 2004
The problem with the 1-star review is that it has the problem completely reversed. The reviewer suggests that traditional legal drafting is *shorter* than the plain english drafting that Garner proposes. He need only read Garner's books to learn that traditional drafting is *significantly* longer and more difficult to read than plain English.

Furthermore, the reviewer needs to realize that Garner is not advocating that all legal writing be poetry. First and foremost, he advocates for clarity and precision. If the writer can also make it interesting to read (or even a joy to read), then more power to the writer.

If you're a lawyer and hate seeing "WHEREAS" before each recital and prefer a simple sentence, Garner is the man for you.

Attorneys can't write well without this book!, July 24, 2001
Quit searching -- this is the best book on legal writing that you will find. It is outstanding.

I am an attorney in Texas, and I have attended two of Mr. Garner's legal-writing seminars. He is currently the leading authority on legal writing; he is also an engaging speaker. His approach is to eliminate legalese and to present a powerful and succinct message. This approach has a very practical foundation -- over the years, Mr. Garner has polled judges across the country to see which writing elements they prefer.

This volume distills Mr. Garner's findings into a compact, 227-page format. The book also contains model documents -- a research memorandum, a legal motion, an appellate brief, and a business contract -- which serve as excellent reference tools for the legal practitioner.

Put simply, if you don't subscribe to Mr. Garner's advice, you don't know how to write well. And this book is the best way yet to access to Mr. Garner's valuable insight. This book is an ESSENTIAL reference tool.

EXCELLENT, March 10, 2003
EXCELLENT BOOK, ALSO MODERN LEGAL USAGE, 2ND EDITION. ENOUGH SAID.

It's superb., April 15, 2002
Yikes! There is no longer anywhere to hide, and there are no more excuses. This book shows you how to drop the jargon, the gobbledygook, the archaisms, and the fluff. So your writing is exposed. Now you must think--and write--clearly, and Legal Writing in Plain English will help. Lawyers and law students have needed this book for a long time. It's superb. (From back cover.)

Worthy advice only exceeded by challenging exercises, September 19, 2005
Bryan Garner brings clarity and insight to the confounding world of legal writing. "Legal Writing in Plain English" contains dozens of comments and guidelines that should be burned into the brain of every attorney. Some of these are obvious (e.g., use a readable typeface), while others are more nuanced (e.g., delete perhaps the legal drafter's favorite legalism, "provided that"). Each suggestion urges the writer toward a simple yet difficult goal -- be a good writer so that your reader doesn't have to work so darn hard to understand you.

As everyone knows, a simple manual of rules can be maddeningly dull and preachy. Garner has enlivened his book by including a number of practical exercises so that the reader can put these guidelines into practice before the next memo or brief. These exercises range from "basic" to "advanced," and are well worth the time.

After reading this book (and attending Mr. Garner's one-day seminar), I submit that this book should be required reading for every One-L and associate.

Attorneys can't write well without this book!, July 24, 2001
Quit searching -- this is the best book on legal writing that you will find. It is outstanding.

I am an attorney in Texas, and I have attended two of Mr. Garner's legal-writing seminars. He is currently the leading authority on legal writing; he is also an engaging speaker. His approach is to eliminate legalese and to present a powerful and succinct message. This approach has a very practical foundation -- over the years, Mr. Garner has polled judges across the country to see which writing elements they prefer.

This volume distills Mr. Garner's findings into a compact, 227-page format. The book also contains model documents -- a research memorandum, a legal motion, an appellate brief, and a business contract -- which serve as excellent reference tools for the legal practitioner.

Put simply, if you don't subscribe to Mr. Garner's advice, you don't know how to write well. And this book is the best way yet to access to Mr. Garner's valuable insight. This book is an ESSENTIAL reference tool.

Excellent book, January 9, 2007
This is an excellent book for law students, paralegals and lawyers. I have been learning so much with it. The writing is pretty straight forward, very easy to understand and learn. Enough with the legalese! Let's write well! ... Read more

Editorial Review

With the prior edition of this concise, up-to-date casebook having been adopted at over 100 law schools, the seventh edition preserves the authors tradition of providing a comprehensive overview of agency, partnership, and corporation law. It also continues to emphasize six basic editorial principles: Be lean but not mean, cases edited ruthlessly to produce a readable and concise result. Facts matter, so they are included in all their potential ambiguity. Bring a planners perspective to the table through extensive use of transactionally-oriented problems. ... Read more

Reviews

Not so hot overview of Agency & Corp Law, December 17, 2005
I was unimpressed with this book. Many in my class struggled because of the way the book was thrown together.
My main problems are the lack of explanation for key concepts, other than a reference to a cut-down case and the questionable decision to use cases that don't clearly explain the issue at hand.
I was thrown off at first when I couldn't find some of the cases in Lexis or WestLaw. Rather than relying on an on-topic US SC case or even a Fed circuit case, some key concepts get examples that are unpublished lower-court decisions where the judge makes either the wrong decision or the right decision for the wrong rulings. The book does not point out the error of the court when it does this. Most of the time this happened, my professor would point out that we should ignore this case and learn the concept from a study guide or his class notes. In an ideal BA book, the authors wouldn't try to trick students by giving them bad examples of the law (or without explaining that the examples have faulty legal logic).
If you are reading this review, you are likely either a law student or a law professor. If you are a professor, please think twice about using this book. If you are a student, you will have no choice in the matter. If you find yourself struggling then read the Lexis and Westlaw briefs or get the High Court Summary for this book. My school bookstore didn't have the HC summaries for this book, but Amazon did.

Impression so far.... Meh., June 7, 2010
This is a casebook in the truest sense of the word. There is very little text or analysis or information provided. It's just a collection of cases with a few questions after them. If you've got this book assigned for your biz orgs class, you may very well need to buy a supplement.

Weak and Confusing Casebook, November 29, 2009
I have a difficult time finding anything positive to say about this casebook. This book is literally little more than cases. It lacks introductory materials explaining key concepts. Furthermore, the notes following the cases are few and far between. This casebook also seemed very poorly organized. The materials simply skipped around too much.

This book made the class far more difficult than I believe it had to be. It is undoubtedly the worst casebook I have had to use for a class... my copy will definitely be hitting the "used" rack for students next semester.

marginal..., February 14, 2010
As other reviewers have mentioned, this book is little more than a compilation of cases. there is little explanation of the key concepts, only cases.

An easy read, September 21, 2009
Even though this was a required text for BA, it is an easier read than other BA books I've looked at.

Because Amazon Asked, February 4, 2009
You know that feeling you get when you, say, stub your toe and it hurts really bad and you think to yourself "Wow the things I would give to make this pain stop."

...If you wrote that into a book, then paid to hear somebody lecture about it for 3 hours. That's about the long and the short of it.

Good book if you get off on tediousness.

great book!, September 3, 2003
this book is very good because it help me a lot in my studies. and also give me knowledge that i really want. ... Read more

Editorial Review

"The legal thriller of the decade." --Cleveland Plain Dealer

Now a Major Motion Picture!

In this true story of an epic courtroom showdown, two of the nation's largest corporations stand accused of causing the deaths of children. Representing the bereaved parents, the unlikeliest of heroes emerges: a young, flamboyant Porsche-driving lawyer who hopes to win millions of dollars and ends up nearly losing everything, including his sanity. A searing, compelling tale of a legal system gone awry--one in which greed and power fight an unending struggle against justice--A Civil Action is also the story of how one determined man can ultimately make a difference. With an unstoppable narrative power, it is an unforgettable reading experience. ... Read more

Editorial Review

Create a nonprofit in your state without spending big on attorney's fees!

The process of becoming a tax-exempt organization may appear intimidating, but with How to Form a Nonprofit Corporation, you can do it quickly, easily and with confidence.

This bestselling book includes complete instructions for obtaining federal 501(c)(3) tax exemption and for qualifying for public charity status with the IRS. It will help you: