Elements of Bankruptcy, 3rd Edition

Rating:
Summary: Outstanding introduction to bankruptcy law
Review: At once rigorous yet lucid, comprehensive yet short, this is one of the best introductions to bankruptcy law out there. The author masterfully surveys the case law and the logical structure of each of the key areas of bankruptcy law.

One of the best features of the book is its structure of individual chapters dedicated to important parts of the law like Bankruptcy Estate, Claims against the Estate, Executory Contracts, Fraudelent Conveyance, Preferences, DIPs, etc. Each chapter is no more than 20 pages, allowing the reader to get a very good birds-eye view of each topic.

While this is a high-level survey of the law, it is still one of the best books to read to develop a framework to tackle the more detailed aspects of the law. Highly recommended for anyone who wants a solid introduction to this field.

Rating:
Summary: Disappointing, chapters poorly organized...
Review: This book addresses all the right topics. That's why it gets three stars.

Unfortunately, each individual chapter is so poorly organized that it's hard to follow the author's argument. The author's style is simply too discursive, too casual. Topics that should be divided by a subheading blend together. Where does one thought end and another begin? Typos further distract the reader. See for instance page 136, "The insolvency test is based on the idea that when a firm's assets are greater than its assets..." The word "liabilities" should replace one of the "assets" in this sentence. Lastly, the author, an academic, cites all sorts of cases that might have pedagogic value or be of historical interest but which have been qualified by subsequent judgments. They are no longer leading cases and, so, this book is of limited value as a desk reference.

If you are a lawyer, I would recommend reading the legislation instead of buying this book. Chapter 11 is only about 100 pages (with annotations), half the length of this book. Other Chapters of Title 11 are even shorter. You can download the Bankruptcy Code for free along with the rest of the US Code if you are so inclined.

Marvin Chirelstein's text on income tax (also from the Concepts & Insights Series) does a much better job of introducing the reader to sophisticated subject matter. I give it 5 stars.