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Quick question on the LaFave hornbook. I want to buy a copy, and the 4th edition (2004) on amazon is MUCH cheaper than the 5th, which is basically sold only at its current price. No big changes since 2004 that would give me reason not to get the 2004 ed. right?

Also, I have Dressler already. Do you think I have enough as is?

You can always buy the older one, then borrow the new one from the library and make copies of whatever's missing, if anything. The main problem with older editions is different pagination, but if you're not being assigned reading in this book then you should be ok.

Unless your instructor actually assigns readings in a hornbook, don't buy it. Waste of money and you won't have time to read it. Don't believe me? Go look at a used copy and see how many notes are written in it after the first two chapters.

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so consensus is... don't buy hornbooks unless it's keyed to the course...? How are we supposed to understand the "underlying rules" of the cases then? (assuming that reading them falls short of that goal)

I used leFave's principals of crim law from the concise hornbook series for crim and found in incredibly helpful. I definitely recommend it. The book is small and short enough not be burdensome but provides all the detail needed for a 1l class. It does a good job or covering both common law and MPC, as well as comparing the differences.

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Princi ... 0314912695

cgs230 wrote:so consensus is... don't buy hornbooks unless it's keyed to the course...? How are we supposed to understand the "underlying rules" of the cases then? (assuming that reading them falls short of that goal)

Rules generally aren't too difficult to understand, but I personally think that hornbooks (a) serve as an awesome reference source when you see something confusing and (b) give a nice little overview of most of the noncontroversial areas of law that you'll see. You don't need to read through the whole damn thing and take notes on stuff.

Crim is a really, really easy class. Your biggest challenge will be writing a good exam and beating the curve, not mastering the material. No reason to buy a hornbook IMO. The E&E should be the MOST you'd need for supplementation.