Book review: Complete Contract Law. Authored by André Naidoo
| Author | Andrea Todd |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/23220058221132604 |
| Published date | 01 January 2023 |
| Date | 01 January 2023 |
| Subject Matter | Book Reviews |
116 Book Reviews
In sum, this collection promotes reflection through a variety of approaches. Paulo Freire in his seminal
work Pedagogy of the Oppressed6 writes that human activity, which consists of action and reflection, can
transform the world, but in order to do so ‘it requires theory to illuminate it’ (p. 89). In this book, the
editors have provided an array of theories to equip students with the conceptual tools to be able to change
the world around them.
Laura Bradley
University of Law, Birmingham, UK
E-mail: laura.bradley@law.ac.uk
Complete Contract Law. Authored by André Naidoo, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2021. pp. 692,
£37.99. ISBN 9780198749868.
10.1177/23220058221132604
In the Preface to Complete Contract Law, André Naidoo shares both his aim of providing students with
‘a comprehensive yet accessible study aid’ and his hope that readers will ‘feel supported throughout’ in
their engagement with the book. Naidoo delivers on both counts. He offers a clear and straightforward
explanation of the basic rules of contract law, providing expansive and systematic coverage while
employing an easily accessible, approachable style of writing, using plain English of which the most
modern contract drafter would be proud.
Following an overview of contract law and its application in Chapter 1, the book is then split into four
parts, with Part 1 covering contract creation; Part 2 dealing with the content and performance of the
contract; and Parts 3 and 4 examining enforcement and termination respectively. The reader is led
skilfully through the full range of contractual concepts, with the author using relatable examples to
illuminate the principles of offer, acceptance, intention, consideration and promissory estoppel (Chapters
2–5); contractual terms, exemption clauses, breach and termination (Chapters 6–8); remedies and privity
(Chapters 9–12) and misrepresentation, duress, undue influence, frustration and mistake (Chapters
13–17).
In many ways, this book does what lecturers advise all good students to do: pull out the key points,
translate complex language into simple vocabulary, draw diagrams to help understanding and be clear
about how topics link and overlap. The level of support offered by the book is very high, and for this
reason it is an ideal Contract Law module companion for students of all abilities and knowledge levels,
as well as their lecturers.
The inclusion of simple diagrams throughout the book will assist the reader’s understanding of
complex ideas, a feature particularly helpful for the visual learner. The addition of highlighted ‘Key
Points’ sections sprinkled throughout the book at relevant junctures (rather than simply at the beginning
or end of chapters) is also a real benefit of this publication. These Key Points may assist readers who can
struggle to take in a large amount of text and/or detail at once, helping to avoid the word blindness that
can often accompany more dense texts. They may also help those students who simply like to cement
their knowledge in a sentence or two before moving on. A useful function of this feature may be for the
reader to flick, as the reviewer did, to the Key Points sections to gain a broad understanding of the
6 pAULo frEIrE Et AL., pEDAGoGy of thE opprESSED (Penguin 1993).
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