This work provides a clear account of the Roman law of obligations. As a work of comparative law it traces the transformation of the Roman law over the centuries. The book is written with a understanding of human nature and of many social, economic, and other forces that determine the face of law.

This scholarly survey of the Law of Obligations from classical to modern times is a marvellous work of historical synthesis which discusses each contract, tort, and liability based on unjust enrichment with great clarity, and traces their development over hundreds of years through the legal systems of Europe. Not merely a work of Roman legal scholarship, it is a treasure-house of ideas and arguments as well as information and scholarship relating to the Law of Obligations. 'Reinhard Zimmermann's study of the Roman law of obligations has been justly praised, and it is now well known, not only for its intrinsic excellence, but also for the manner in which it has opened up a dialogue between lawyers of the Civilian and Common law traditions...The book is indeed the most extraordinary tour de force of erudition lucidly expounded. The publication of the paperback edition at a reasonable price is thus to be welcomed...stimulating and thought-provoking...Oxford University Press is to be congratulated in publishing a translation of one and a relatively inexpensive edition of the other. Both are important books.'