Book excerpt: There have been many introductory texts on the common law over the years, but among the more recent Professor Cappalli's The American Common Law Method has been most widely praised. It focuses on the system of judicial precedent, recognized as one of the great achievements of Anglo-American genius, and especially on its development in American jurisprudence since Holmes and Cardozo. It comprehensively details both the theory underlying case law and the methodology and thinking employed by American judges in applying that theory to specific fact-patterns. Special classroom adoption prices are available. Published under the Transnational Publishers imprint.