As a British barrister, the contribution of Pollock (1845-1947) to a 1911 lecture series at Columbia U. was to trace the evolution of English common law and to vindicate its native merit: its Germanic origins, archaic formalism, a 19th century case example of internal dangers to common law, external dangers from enemies such as the Puritans, legislative reforms, competition with other systems, and perils of the marketplace (which features a discussion of the responsibility of employer and undertakers). Includes footnotes. Originally published by Columbia U. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
