Invitation to Law

Brilliantly written, even by the high standards of the popular Invitations series, this book offers an engaging introduction to law for the rapidly increasing number of students, both at school and beyond, who enrol in law courses.Law is something which surrounds us all from birth. As children we acquire an understanding of right and wrong, Robin Hood, highwaymen and outlaws, cops and robbers and as we grow older we begin to understand that government is also based on principles of law. Though everyday life may rarely if ever have brought most citizens into contact with criminal law, motoring law apart, few can have escaped involvement of one kind or another with such laws as tax laws, the laws saying when shops may open, and at what age you may purchase liquor.Professor Simpson's book is an illuminating guide to the pervasiveness and intricacies of law and an ideal invitation for those interested in its mechanics, purposes and functions. It is a thorough guide to a mysterious and complex institution and profession.

1. The Pervasiveness of Law. 2. Legal Ideals and Sordid Realities. 3. Legal Systems and Legal Traditions. 4. The Divisions of the Law. 5. The Sources of Law. 6. Lawyers. 7. The Academic Study of Law. 8. The Future of the Law. 9. Where Next?