Business Law : Principles for Today's Commercial Environment

David P. Twomey, Marianne M. Jennings

I thought about trying to read some fun things over the summer. More books on book collecting, some gardening books, a few things I have saved up on the fiction shelf. But instead, I find myself reading this book.

Two chapters a night, with a case analysis from each chapter. It's quite the reading load. I'm getting better at skimming it and recognizing what is essential (it's arranged to be appealing to a poor reader, so that can be harder than it sounds), but it's still a lot of reading, and it cuts into my other reading considerably.

On the other hand, if you want a decent reference on business law issues, including Internet topics, this seems to be a good book. It has a lot of information in it, includes references to cases, and comes with a CD-ROM. There's an "interactive" version of the book if you're a worse reader than the average poor reader, which means it's just unbearable for people like me who prefer large, uninterrupted chunks of text.

The book also includes nice summaries of example cases and landmarks in the law, with explanations of the judgements so you know why the justices acted that way. I can't say it's making me feel like the law is entirely fair, because it seems, fairly clearly, to work against people who are honest and responsible, but it does at least give the justifications for the various decisions over the years.

My big gripe with this book is that it's a beast. If it came in four or six paperback volumes, it would be a lot easier to deal with; you just carry the chapters you're reading to school with you that day. Why textbook publishers feel bound to deliver these massive single volumes on high-clay paper and bound hardcover, I do not know. I was so delighted when I discovered that my math and physics books came in sets of volumes, so you could reasonably carry all your books for the day in one backpack without ending up hunched over with a pulled muscle.

# Posted by ayse