Reflections on <i>Contracts in the Real World</i>: History, Currency, Context, and Other Values

It is gratifying to read that this symposium issue of the Washington Law Review was stimulated by Contracts in the Real World. Thanks to the editors for the opportunity to ruminate on the place of the book’s approach—stressing context through stories—in the tradition of contracts pedagogy. To that end, Part I first pinpoints relevant historical milestones in the field of contracts casebooks. Building on that historical grounding, Part II then highlights the values of currency and context that the stories approach epitomizes.

Turning more speculative, Part III considers the value of this approach from the perspective of the purpose and place of teaching books. Finally, Part IV offers thoughts about the sequence and themes that appear in my book’s organization of the subject, which contrasts with motifs manifest in both traditional casebooks and many strands of contract law scholarship. Contracts in the Real World regales readers with stories I wrote rather than providing primary legal materials for study. The positive reception to Contracts in the Real World prompted me to begin preparing a course book consisting of cases and materials based on its pedagogy, content, and architecture.