Legal book reviews

Thirdfox

I find that there's a lot of legal resources out there and students like myself can be easily confused as to which books to read (whether for cramming or to get an in-depth view of a subject).

Hopefully on this thread people can give their opinions on books that they've read and whether it was any help (either for cramming purposes or just as a source of knowledge). Maybe people can ask about whether a book is worth purchasing or just loaning from a library...

I'll start with "An Introduction to Criminal Law" by Conor Hanly - it's a pretty useful book I found, more in-depth than a nutshells book but not so much caselaw as to overwhelm you (as in Charleton). I managed to read through the whole book without wanting to bash my head against rocks. It covers all the issues that Charleton covers (to a much lesser degree it must be said).

Price is great (compared to the leading books) and I would definitely suggest it as a study aid come exams, for an in-depth look Charleton may be a better bet. Note, some information is out of date now (e.g. statutory rape, insanity etc.) but that applies equally for all criminal law books.

Btw, the leading law books (as I see it) are:
Kelly: The Irish Constitution - Gerard Hogan, Gerry Whyte
Torts - McMahon and Binchy
Criminal Law - Charleton
Law on Contract - Paul A. McDermott
please add other areas (as I haven't studied them yet!)

Sangre

Evidence:
Declan McGrath;
Well research, detailed and excellently written. Also provides useful analysis and criticism of this complex area of law. A must for anyone doing the subject in final year law.
(Unfortunately this text costs roughly €320 so make the most of your library services)

Fennell;
A very basic and simple text. I found it wholly inadequate for my study needs. Perhaps enough for Kings Inn

Criminal law
Criminal Liability (Finbarr McAuley)
While most certainly one of the great legal minds on the area in the country, his extensively researched and opinion laden text is quite burdensome for first year students. Unfortunately his writing style follows his lecturing style, seemingly without order or focus. While conducive to discussion it doesn't help someone trying to grasp the subject for the first time.

Constituional law ( Professor Casey);
A clear, well written text that is easily accessible to first years. Well recommended.

Land Law (Lyall);
Certainly one of the better legal texts available. Unlike his lecturers the text makes for easy, fluid reading and his vast topical knowledge provokes some interesting thoughts on the subject.

These are the books that spring to mind, will add more later

Sangre

I'd also like to add the disclaimer that anyone who attends either UCD or Trinity should never need to buy a book. I went through all of 2nd and final without buying a text (except one €40 one) and I was never short of books.
Just make use of your extensive library resources e.g. short/long term loads, (e)journals, articles, reserve collections.

besty

Stickied.

I think this thread will be a useful tool for poor students when trying to decide which pockets to feather come September.

EdgarAllenPoo

If you want cheap books try ebay and schoolbookexchange that is where(with one or two exceptions) I bought all of mine, I spent about €300 on books and got everything(except Charleton) that I needed. The hadiest book I had was Byrne&McCutcheon but then being pretty much a history book it was easier to read than your average law text.

hullaballoo

Thread unstuck so that people might actually read it.

EdgarAllenPoo

How would you compare the Burke & Corbett tort text to the McMahon and Binchy one?

mountainyman

GDM wrote:

How would you compare the Burke & Corbett tort text to the McMahon and Binchy one?

There is no comparison; Burke and Corbett is a nutshell and McMahon & Binchy is the definitive text.

Personally I believe Quill is the best book on Irish Tort but McM&B is THE text.

An alternative to Burke & Corbett would be Katherine Walsh's 'Make That Grade' Irish Tort Law.

EdgarAllenPoo

I think it may be useful (if it's allowed on the forum) to point people in the direction of where they can get the cheapest books.

maidhc

mountainyman wrote:

Personally I believe Quill is the best book on Irish Tort but McM&B is THE text.

I hate quill. His layout is silly and doesn't even go into enough detail to pass the Fe-1s of which he is the examiner.

MM&B is the only job, it is a pity they didn't proof read it properly!

Company Law
Thomas Courtney is all you need. It was my big investment for Final year, and was well worth it.

Equity
Hilary Delany will do fine. Only equity book I ever read and it delivered the goods.

Property
Couglan is good, Pearce and Mee is better for what it covers

hada

law of contract: anson's law of contract

despite it being an english book, it by far is one of the most comprehensive and easily digestable contract texts that students are likely to find. it is priced quite reasonably at €60 and goes into enough detail without overburdening the student with bucketloads of information (as contract law may do at times)

EdgarAllenPoo

hada wrote:

law of contract: anson's law of contract

despite it being an english book, it by far is one of the most comprehensive and easily digestable contract texts that students are likely to find. it is priced quite reasonably at €60 and goes into enough detail without overburdening the student with bucketloads of information (as contract law may do at times)

I found that to be perfectly useless, but that's just me. Though I did manage to get it for €5 on ebay so I'm not complainig.

hada

GDM wrote:

I found that to be perfectly useless, but that's just me. Though I did manage to get it for €5 on ebay so I'm not complainig.

really? I used it in conjunction with chesire and fifoot, and had no real problems at all. Suppose the fact that my lecturer's notes were based on both texts helped me somewhat.

Despite that anson's is regarded as one of the greatest english contract books ever (hence its continued updated editions)

skyhighflyer

I'll play:


Evidence by Declan McGrath - concise, clear, easy to read and well laid out. A1 in all respects and not even that long of a book. Costs €320 so fúck buying it, just photocopy the entire thing in blatant disregard of copyright law

Torts by McMahon and Binchy - hated Tort really so didn't enjoy this book much but as far as the law of tort in Ireland goes, it's the Bible. Well laid out and loads of info, if you knew what was in this book (unlike me) I'm sure you'd have no problem passing any Tort exam. It's comprehensive.

Evidence by Caroline Fennell. I was stupid enough to buy this at the start of the year as it was the smallest/ cheapest of the recommended texts. Big mistake, easily the worst €110 I have ever spent. Lacking in info, stuck-up-your-own-arse writing style, and generally difficult to follow.

Criminal Liability by McAuley and McCutcheon - I actually loved this book, although I loved Criminal Law and everything about it. It even has some Sudanese case law ffs what more do you want! Unfortunately it's probably too heavy for most first years and reads like a long essay rather than a text book. Also it has some gratuitous Latin phraseology which adds nothing. But overall I did well in Criminal using only the book and it's good that Prof. McAuley can criticise the law and decisions because he has the respect and credibility to be listened to.

Contract by Paul McDermott. Seemed to be a fairly solid book, although fairly uninspirational like the subject itself. Didn't use it a whole lot though. Usual clear Butterworth's layout.

The Irish Legal System by Byrne and Mc Cutcheon. Seemed to be a very useful book covers a lot of issues like statutory interpretation, EU law, stare decisis, etc. Very readable - anyone considering studying law should buy this book first.

Law of Private Companies by Courtney and Hutchinson. Brian Hutchinson isn't mentioned on the cover but he should be as he seems to have written half of it. And he's a top bloke (Company law lecturer, UCD). An absolute beast of a book at 1600 + pages. Generally excellent, if intimidating for its sheer size. Very easy to read and take notes from. Makes even some interminably complicated topics seem, well, not that complicated.

That's all for now:D

Ava

A new addition but a great resource for anyone stuck with eu law for the summer.
European Law by Damian Chalmers etc. Thoroughly up to date just published a couple of weeks ago so contains everything you need on any changes to institutions through recent referenda and everything is laid out in a clear and understandable format.

focusing

This is so, so true. Such a waste of money.

skyhighflyer wrote:

Evidence by Caroline Fennell. I was stupid enough to buy this at the start of the year as it was the smallest/ cheapest of the recommended texts. Big mistake, easily the worst €110 I have ever spent. Lacking in info, stuck-up-your-own-arse writing style, and generally difficult to follow.

There was a copy in the library where someone had pencilled in the correct English over her pretentious nonsense.

I'd suggest John Healy's very good book on Evidence.