Contract Law Directions (9th edn) by Richard Taylor and Damian Taylor

Contract Law Directions (9th edn) by Richard Taylor and Damian Taylor is the latest textbook on the law of contract, published in August 2023. This is part of the Directions series, which introduces subjects for those reading them for the first time. Contract Law Directions is, therefore, a great textbook for students studying the law of contract as part of a qualifying law degree (LLB) in England and Wales.

Taylor and Taylor's textbook provides a holistic introduction to the law of contract, covering all the major areas of the contract law syllabus, including the creation of obligations, contents and borders, Defects and Finishing and enforcing obligations. This further breaks down into offer & acceptance, consideration, types of terms, misrepresentation, mistake, duress and undue influence, frustration, damages and much more. There is also a very helpful appendix that provides information on efficient and creative study and examinations, which I recommend reading both at the start of one's study of contract law and after finishing reading the content for the first time.

I enjoyed reading this textbook as it provides a clear structure of the contract law syllabus. The chapters are all well structured with the use of headings provided throughout to offer a framework or scaffold of each topic in the law of contract. On the whole, it provides easy-to-understand commentary on the law of contract as well as information regarding important cases, albeit in varying depths of detail. The chapter summaries at the end of each chapter further provide a clear and concise summary of what has been learned to help students consolidate the topic but this would also come in helpful for revision purposes. The use of diagrams throughout is another really good strength of this textbook which helps cater for students and their different learning preferences, whether that be learning through reading or diagrams. The practice questions at the end of the book, both essay and problem questions, and the further reading sections further add value to this textbook and support the law student in their studies of contract law. 

The writers provide some great humour throughout the textbook, which, when present, can make it both an easier and more enjoyable textbook to read. The advice given by the authors is also of great help to the students and is likely to help them succeed in this area of the law. As mentioned in the introduction of this book, this is partly due to the age differences between the two authors; the one provides lots of knowledge from all his experience, and the other makes it more digestible for the younger generation. I appreciate this wasn't the sole purpose of each author but further adds value to the textbook and helps the student reader feel like they can both trust the expertise of the academics and connect with them.

Despite this, some areas of the book could have been written in a much clearer and easier-to-understand way, which would have allowed a greater comprehension for the reader, who is most likely new to the law of contract. Some of the chapters were also very long, which, although can be seen as necessary for an undergraduate degree textbook, can sometimes be seen as undesirable by students. It would have also been nice for the cases to have been broken down a bit more and in some cases in clearer ways. However, it may be argued that if a student is looking for this, they should be directed to the Essential Cases books available. Finally, despite this being a textbook on the law of contract based on the laws of England and Wales, there seemed to have been use of American spellings rather than English spellings.

Altogether, I rate this textbook 3 stars, making this a good textbook. It provides a good introduction to the law of contract in mostly easy-to-understand language, with lots of references to relevant cases and legislation throughout. Compared to some textbooks, this is also a much shorter textbook, meaning it is very much to the point which is something students really appreciate. The questions, further reading, and thinking points provided students with the opportunity to think about what they are learning to help set them up for success. I would therefore strongly recommend this as a textbook for the Law of Contract for a qualifying law degree in England and Wales.