Law and Society (8th Edition)

This is an excellent textbook. The language is clear, the ideas well exposed, and the subject covered in a most satisfactory manner. The sixth edition I have read contains an extensive and very useful bibliography. I'd recommend it whoheartedly for undergraduate courses on the topic. Some minor criticisms: first, I would have liked the section on theoretical perspectives to be more extensive, while the chapter on methods seems to me to be superflous, at least for undergraduates. Second, at the bottom of page 232, the information give is confusing. It talks about tons, without specifying whether metric or not. Further, it uses ounces, pounds and kilos, all very unclear. Thirdly, the sections on the socialist system are obsolete, insofar as those systems have practically disappeared. And, yes, although the author claims, at the bottom of p.1 that he has followed an eclectic apporach, "without embracing or advocating a particular position, ideology, or theoretical stance", the truth is that I feel I detect a very subtle but, nonetheless recognizable, "leftish" leaning. But those are minor shortcomings, whcih shrink to nothing in comparison with the very positive achievements of the textbook. Kudos!

When I read chapter one, I thought I was reading a foreign language. I decided to read the summaries first at the end of each chapter. This made reading much much easier and the topic friendlier.

The book is well written and researched but is very preliminary and recommended for beginers. Its a great starter book to those who are not familiar but are interested in the law from a sociological perspective. The author writes well and has thorough research and provides references for further information but can be somewhat repetitive.