This book provides an ideal introduction for anyone wondering whether to study law or those who are simply curious to know more about it. It is not confined to English law, but deals with the Western tradition of law as a whole. It outlines the key problems of constitutional law and the law of property, contracts, treaties, crimes and torts. It also explains the importance of law of forms, procedures, and interpretation and examines how law relates to government, history, and justice. In this way it vividly brings out the intellectual and practical fascination of the subject. The book is easy to read and the chapters are self-contained. Where possible, technical terms are avoided. When unavoidable, they are explained both in the text and in a glossary at the end of the book. The author is a leading lawyer, legal historian, and legal philosopher. During his career in Oxford he taught many hundreds of students and it is from this experience that the book is drawn.

作者简介：托尼·奥诺里（Tony Honoré），（1921-2019），英国牛津大学教授。生于伦敦，在南非长大。二战期间曾服兵役，战后在牛津大学新学院读书，之后一直在牛津大学任教。曾于1971至1988年担任牛津皇家皇家民法讲座教授，该席位是牛津大学最古老的六个讲席之一。研究领域为法理学、民法学和罗马法，在所有权和因果关系问题上做出了重大理论贡献，也是英国最杰出的罗马法专家。共出版13本专著，其中最有影响力的著作是他与哈特合著的《法律中的因果关系》。

译者简介：郑玉双，中央财经大学法学院副教授，中国政法大学法学博士。研究领域为法哲学、刑法哲学和政治哲学，在《政法论坛》《法制与社会发展》等法学刊物发表论文多篇，主译《合法性》。