Glanville Williams: Learning The Law by A. T. H. Smith

 Glanville Williams: Learning The Law by A. T. H. Smith is exactly what it says on the front cover: a "guide, philosopher and friend". Throughout this review, I will refer to the authors meaning by Glanville Williams and A. T. H. Smith as one. This book goes through nearly every aspect of learning the law in great detail including the divisions of the criminal justice system, the methods of study, technical terms, statutory interpretation, answering different types of questions, conducting legal research and so much more even including a chapter specifically regarding European law. This is the ideal guide for any law student.

I liked this book because rather than covering many different aspects for the law student, it focuses on the fundamentals of studying the law and looks at each area in great detail. Therefore, This book deals with some of the limitations I mentioned in my review of McBride's Letters to a Law Student. Whereas letters to a law student looked at many different topics such as how to write an essay in less detail, Learning the Law looks at how to write an essay in much more detail. The two books, therefore, complement each other very well for the law student. I also liked the contents page of this book which listed each chapter but also within each chapter listed each individual section within the chapter to help the law student find the relevant part of the book with ease. As said in the introduction of this book, it is not meant to be read cover to cover, but rather be read alongside one's studies and reading the relevant sections as they come up.

I am not going to say there are really any limitations to this book, I will just give a word of warning to future readers of learning the law. I read this book for the first time (cover to cover) at the end of July before starting my legal education in September. I would highly revise that you wait until you have started your legal education to read this book as it is incredibly detailed and perhaps too detailed for the layperson who does not fully understand the subject of law before commencing one's studies at university. Letters to a Law Student is a much better pre-law school book to read before university and has a much wider scope. This book is great for the student giving the necessary level of detail when studying the subject of law.

Altogether, I rate this book 4 stars meaning it is a very good book which is highly detailed and offers excellent, practical advice. This is a must-read for anyone who is studying law to help them with their legal education, which will be very different from the education which people will have gathered from the compulsory education at primary and secondary school. For the first time, you will have great independence of your studies and this book helps educate you on what you need to do and how you need to do it. I therefore highly recommend Glanville Williams' Learning the Law.