The legal system is very often an area of discussion, as many people are interested in how justice is delivered in their country. If you are interested in law, then reading law books is a great way of exploring your interest and finding out more about how legal systems have evolved. Whether you are driven by a natural curiosity or the considerable salaries that layers can command, reading law books will provide you with plenty of useful information. Personally I find it pretty amazing that the legal system in Britain, for example, has evolved from inflicting injuries upon men and waiting to see if they healed to the complex system needed to deal with the various different crimes of today.

Within the field of law books, there is enormous versatility and specificity, as each branch of law has its own specifics- you can read about internet laws, advertising laws, business laws, criminal law and financial law just to name a few- with so much to read you are sure to find a topic that will interest you.

Law for Dummies by John Ventura

If you want to find out some general information about the legal system, then you could do a lot worse than read “Law for Dummies”, as it takes you through the basics of the legal system. More importantly it provides information that is more practical than theoretical, which is very useful if you want to understand you own rights and restrictions. The book covers areas such as protecting your child support rights, arming yourself against identity theft, improving your credit score, writing wills and hiring an attorney.

The Transformation of American Law, 1870-1960: The Crisis of Legal Orthodoxy by Morton J. Horwitz

This book is the second of Morton J Horwitz’s on the development of American Law. The first traces the evolution from the original colonial laws, but most readers will probably more interested in this, the second book, as it is more relevant to most readers today. I think its real strength is how it expresses the transformation of law as a result of social and economic changes- in my opinion one of the best books on American legal history.

A History Of American Law by Lawrence M. Friedman

As well as presenting a really interesting account of American legal history, Friedman’s book is more readable than one might expect for a book on legal history. The book also makes insightful judgement of the US legal system itself- how well it succeeded or indeed failed to adapt to a rapidly changing American society.