The history of law can only begin after the written record of it commences; in the Middle East, that is a few centuries after the advent of writing itself in the fourth millennium BCE. That law is the oldest recorded, and is the foundation of the two great modern Western systems, the Common Law and the Civil Law. In sections covering the next three millennia to the change of era, specialists in the cultures, languages, and literatures explore the law in Egypt, Mesopotamia, Anatolia and the Levant, and international law. The broad scope and the paucity of data seems to have found its level at about twelve hundred pages. The two volumes are paged together and indexed by subjects, ancient terms, and texts cited. Annotation (c) Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)