'This remarkable (and remarkably concise) book successfully combines an extensive knowledge of legal history and of comparative law with an insightful understanding of the philosophical debates surrounding contract doctrine. Gordley interweaves a number of themes with considerable aplomb, and has provided much that will be of interest to disparate audiences.' N. E. Simmonds, Cambridge Law Journal 'I cannot do justice to the detail and painstaking scholarship which backs up Gordley's interpretation of contract doctrine. Whatever view one ultimately takes of the argument this is undoubtedly a remarkable work of scholarship and essential reading for anyone with an academic interest in the law of contract ... It achieves its purpose magnificently.' Hugh Collins, Law Quarterly Review