Life is full of dilemmas, tensions, and competing guideposts. 'Look before you leap,' clamours one proverb; 'he who hesitates is lost,' responds another. The antinomy is not trivial. Like law in isolation versus law in context, or law as a profession versus law as an intellectual discipline, neither guidepost can tell the whole story. Neither is true; yet both are true. Ultimately, we must exercise judgment and choose that which is appropriate in the circumstances. This excellent book will help you make that choice. It will give you many ways to think about law - many ways to conceptualise it, contextualise it, and criticise it. The authors are ... not afraid to express a point of view. Yet, if you take the real message of this book, you will not necessarily agree with them. You will apply your own mind to the issues. You will expose their predilections and challenge their points of view. You will begin to supply your own answer to the question, 'what is law?' - Professor Michael Coper, Dean & Robert Garran Professor of Law, The Australian National University