A History of Dalhousie Law School

As the author is at pains to tell us at the very beginning, this is not an earth-shaking book. Furthermore, Professor Willis states in his preface that the project was started by the late Dean Emeritus Horace Read and thus is the work of two hands; if Willis himself had originated the project, "The book I should like to have written about the Dalhousie Law School would be something very different from this .. ." At that point, the reviewer felt some unease about the task at hand. He need not have worried: the history is a successful and worthwhile undertaking - and a delight to any "old boy" as Willis calls us - not just because it is carefully researched and well written by an eminent scholar about a subject of historical significance for Canadian legal history, not even because it is interesting and sometimes quite entertaining; the remarkable thing about John Willis' history is that it is John Willis, the superlative teacher, speaking to us.