This Textbook on Contract is aimed at students with no prior training in law, particularly those studying contract law “as a single course in some other discipline” (Preface). With that in mind, Mr Downes has used Part 1 of the book to discuss legal method. Part II is headed “The Law of Contract” and Part III “Contracts and third Parties”. The intended market perhaps explains why nearly 50 pages are allowed for privity, assignment and agency. Having devoted up to 36 pages on legal method, the body of the book—the law of contract—is discussed in a manageable 250 pages.

Downes’ book is fairly traditional, both in structure and analysis. However, the author is not unaware of other influences, and an early section of the main body of the book deals with the “role” of contract law and contracts (pp. 43–45). There are other examples as well to show the awareness of the author of external influences and of the need to ask normative questions.

In achieving the goal set out, Textbook on Contract seems to me to be very successful. There are no significant gaps in the analysis and the book is nicely presented. It is well written and, subject to the comments below, it is well thought out in structure and balance. Chapters 4 to 9 of the book, in particular, are well done. The book is a viable alternative to the longer standard texts and should compete well with other works of a more introductory or basic kind.

A number of suggestions occur to me for improving the book, most of which are quite minor and do not detract from the value of the work. My only real concern about the book might be put down to the “hobby horse” syndrome.

(1) In exemplifying legal principles in an introductory book, care must be taken not to introduce too many ideas at once or to present unexplained complications. For example, to illustrate the overlap between tort and contract, rather than constructing a complicated carriage example (p. 40), it would be more straightforward to use a professional person’s contract. And on p. 78, the illustration of intention to create legal relations contains an unexplained capacity issue.

(2) Where it is necessary to introduce concepts which are not an integral part of contract