Karl N. Llewellyn was one of the founders and major figures of legal realism, and his many keen insights have a central place in American law and legal understanding. Key to Llewellyn s thinking was his conception of rules, put forward in his numerous writings and most famously in his often mischaracterized declaration that they are pretty playthings. Previously unpublished, "The Theory of Rules "is the most cogent presentation of his profound and insightful thinking about the life of rules.
This book frames the development of Llewellyn s thinking and describes the difference between...