Book reviews - written by lawyers

This book is ideal for start-up operations and businesses of fewer than 10 people - and any business lawyer who appreciates a well-informed client should hope that the entrepreneur-client has first read this Teach Yourself book. It is less useful for an already-trading small or medium-sized enterprise.

The story of Ceylon’s emergence as an independent nation is less well-known than its larger neighbours that form the Indian subcontinent. This book is set in the 1950s and covers post-British rule and the resulting ethnic and political tensions. The Devil Dancers shows what a lawyer, who can write, can do with some imagination and legal training. It reads more like a Shakespearean tragedy.

From the opening words 'Oh Shit. Everything has gone abruptly dark' to the closing 'Life is good…', the second edition of this book written in 1989 grips you in its personal moving account of the attempted assassination of its author, Albie Sachs, and his recovery. Give yourself time to read because once you start you will not want to put it down, even though you may need a rest from the powerful emotions it will cause.

Alex Fisher is a high-flying lawyer close to making partner at City firm MacArthur Warren. A chance meeting with an old boyfriend provides the opportunity for her to secure a deal for the firm on the sale of a leading cosmetic surgery business that could help her chances.

Despite leaving a drunken telephone message for the surgery’s finance director, Alex is invited to pitch for the deal, which she wins.