International Trade—for, despite the title, that is what the first book here reviewed is about—has in the past few years spawned a number of books smaller in size and broader in appeal than the three heavyweights in the arena, namely, Benjamin’s Sale of Goods, Schmitthoff’s Export Trade, and Sassoon’s C. I. F. and F. O. B. Contracts. The demand for more literature in this field of commercial law is doubtless a result of the growing number of litigants, whose transactions frequently have only the most tenuous connection with this country, coming before our Commercial Court with complex questions about the English law of international sale contracts. Mere demand has changed into a market larger than St. Mary Axe through the blossoming of courses in the subject, both at the Bar and in an increasing number of University Law Faculties.

The point about the title is meant quite seriously, for the name chosen does no justice to the task Mr Todd has set himself. The Preface introduces two themes on the backs of which the detail in the book is then to ride: the first is a lament for the ocean bill of lading, coupled with a complaint about “a regression towards [other] documents whose value is limited”; the second is the fascinating nature of the relationships created by the network of contracts used to perfect an international trade transaction. It is that second theme which is belied by the title: for this book, much more than its rivals by Mr Day and Mr Hoyle (both of whose works were called The Law of International Trade), has actually resisted the temptation of summarizing the principles of the law of Sale, Carriage by Sea and Letters of Credit and of putting the assembled précis into one cover. True, the chapter headings do give the initial impression that here we have, yet again, a montage made up of three chapters on Carriage, two on Sale and one on Letters of Credit, with the introductory and concluding chapters telling us that the three areas really are quite closely connected. Thankfully, however, this impression is