Contract law is an interesting subject that is relevant to each of our daily lives as most people will enter into contracts on a daily basis. Whether you are negotiating high- value contracts in a business setting, starting a new job and contracting with an employer, taking out a loan, or simply buying a train ticket or entering into a contract for sale as a consumer, the general principles of contract law will apply to your transaction. Beginning Contract Law is designed to give you a basic understanding of the law of contract and to introduce you to key concepts and principles of law. The law of contract is fundamental to any legal studies, and indeed, business studies. Both lawyers and those operating in a business environment need to have at least a basic understanding of matters such as how a contract is formed, the implications of making false statements during contractual negotiations, the validity of specifi c types of clauses such as exclusion or limitation clauses and penalty clauses, and an appreciation of the available remedies should the other party fail to perform their contractual obligations. This book is intended to supplement your studies and make these topics accessible through the use of key features such as diagrams, key case analysis boxes, key defi nitions and on- the-spot questions to test your own understanding of the subject. We have also compiled an annotated further reading list to help you develop a deeper awareness of key legal debates and issues, and the online resource centre attached to this book provides further resources, such as a glossary of key terms used. We would like to take the opportunity to express our gratitude to our editors, Damian Mitchell and Fiona Briden at Routledge, for their invaluable support, encouragement and guidance throughout the writing process. We would also like to thank those at Routledge who were involved in the production process and the anonymous academic reviewers. Finally, we would like to dedicate this book to our respective parents, Michael and Marie, and Nick and June.