Patrick Atiyah is a former Professor of English Law at the University of Oxford. He has held appointments at several other universities including Chairs at the University of Warwick and at the Australian National University in Canberra.
Stephen Smith is professor and William Dawson scholar in the faculty of law at McGill University, Montreal, and former tutor and fellow in law at St. Anne's College, Oxford.

Atiyah's Introduction to the Law of Contract is a well-known text through which thousands of university students have first encountered the law of contract, and the new edition has long been eagerly awaited by university teachers and students.

This sixth edition, updated by Stephen Smith, continues to provide readers with an introduction to the theories, policies, and ideas that underlie the law, placing an equal emphasis on the law and critical analysis. In particular, the discussion of recent cases and legislation is centred on why contract law is the way it is, whether it can be justified, and, if not, what should be done to improve it.

The sixth edition has been revised to place the law of contract in a modern context and to account for recent developments in the law, as well as those in academic thinking and writing. Addressing European influences and including perspectives from comparative law, this remains a stimulating and authoritative exposition of the modern law of contract.