Book by Erin McKean & James Clapp

[Fred Shapiro]

Another item from the January 2004 issue of CHOICE Magazine (the leading
review medium for academic books):

1001 Legal Words You Need to Know, ed. by Jay M. Feinman, James E. Clapp,
and Erin McKean.  Oxford, 2003.  239p bibl afp ISBN 0-19-516503-9, $17.95

US society is often characterized as overly litigious: law is everywhere
in America.  The language of the law is an integral part of society, but
attempts to understand what the law is saying depend directly on
understanding its language.  Feinman tries to dispel the obfuscation often
associated with lawyers and paralegal, writing, "in a democratic society,
law belongs not to the lawyers but to the people, and ordinary people need
to be able to understand the law."  In addition to defining the 1,001
headwords, Feinman uses his expertise and insight to interpret clearly,
succinctly, and intelligibly ten legal problems often encountered by
ordinary people (e.g., what is power of attorney; how to understand a
contract, how to make a living will).  Summing Up:  Highly recommended.
All academic levels, professionals.

Fred Shapiro


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Fred R. Shapiro                             Editor
Associate Librarian for Collections and     YALE DICTIONARY OF QUOTATIONS
  Access and Lecturer in Legal Research     Yale University Press,
Yale Law School                             forthcoming
e-mail: fred.shapiro at yale.edu               http://quotationdictionary.com
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