In the United States the use of economics has had a dramatic influence on the study of corporate law. Professor Cheffins's book is the first in the United Kingdom to use economics to consider the inner-workings of companies, to examine the impact of the legal system on corporate activities and to evaluate the merits of governmental regulatory strategies. The book, with its strong conceptual focus, explores questions which have not been canvassed in detail elsewhere. Therefore quite apart from addressing the basic undergraduate company law syllabus in a stimulating and theoretically enlightening fashion the book also highlights questions which dominate the company law arena. These include: What are the justifications for legal regulation of company affairs? What are the drawbacks associated with government intervention? How can one ascertain the optimal format for company law rules? In doing this the book also sheds new light on familiar company law topics. Examples are the limited liability ofshareholders, the remedies of minority shareholders, directors' fiduciary duties, structure of the board of directors, the role of self-regulation in the United Kingdom securities markets and the impact of European Union Directives on English company law. The book has been written for the reader who has little or no prior knowledge of either law or economics. This makes it an ideal introduction for the first-time student as well as a stimulating text for the more ambitiou.