Stefano Barazza

Central Issues in Jurisprudence

edition along with its counterpart foreword by a US professor, is an attempt to court a wider market. Or it may be just another way of seeking to distinguish the text from other comparable work. Amongst those already mentioned, there is another category of textbooks that offer a shorter, more concise, slimmed-down version of the international law textbook at around 400 pages each. Books such as those by Martin Dixon or more recently Jan Klabbers, attempt quite successfully to meet the need of those students taking shorter courses in international law, or those daunted by the larger volumes on offer. In turn, this leaves the current work on review under question, where for teaching provision it is hard to see how it fits in with the usual list of prescribed reading for students. This is less to do with the ability of the authors, whose work is of high calibre, but more to do with the placing of the text, which attempts to be both competent textbook and narrative companion in a binding that is no larger than a standard paperback. Most commendable are the simplicity and clarity of the writing allied with competent use of case law, but at postgraduate level, the work acts more as a signpost than textbook, while for undergraduates it may have value as a companion text, but once placed on a reading list even alongside a more comprehensive textbook, it may be just too tempting to read in lieu.