Here is an exceptionally clear introduction to law, covering the main subjects found in the first year of law school. Readers are introduced to every aspect of the legal system, from constitutional law and the litigation process to tort law, contract law, property law, and criminal law. Feinman illuminates each discussion with many intriguing, outrageous, and infamous cases, from the scalding coffee case that cost McDonald's half a million dollars to the epochal decision in Marbury v. Madison that gave the Supreme Court the power to declare laws unconstitutional. He broadens the reader's legal vocabulary, clarifying the meaning of everything from "due process" and "equal protection" to the distinction between "murder" and "manslaughter." Perhaps most important, we learn that though the law is voluminous and complex, it is accessible to all.