<p>This is an excellent book. Despite the co-authors’ considerable (combined and individual) expertise in the areas of competition law and economics, this might be a surprising statement to be found at the start, rather than at the end, of a book review; after all, even experts might have ‘a bad day’ or be otherwise constrained when it comes to the process of writing. However, it has to be said right from the outset that this publication falls into neither category, far from it: for a start, this book is very timely and highly topical. It does exactly what it ‘says on the tin’; in nine richly sourced and well-referenced chapters, Geradin <italic>et al</italic> give a thorough and detailed account of the general interaction between EU Competition Law and Economics and, in doing so, present a critical and in-depth analysis of current competition law practice and competition policy formation in the European Union. Admittedly, there is no denying that, nowadays, the subject of economics forms an essential part and plays an important role in the application of EU competition law generally, and it has to be acknowledged that other (also useful and valuable) publications such as Simon Bishop and Mike Walker<italic>, The Economics of EC Competition Law,</italic> 2<sup>nd</sup> edn (2010) exist. Yet, Geradin <italic>et al</italic> might justifiably be considered as having taken the concept of ‘usefulness’ of a book dealing with the use and utility of economics in competition law to another level: to begin with, this book is written in a clear and engaging style which is to be both welcomed and commended as, unfortunately, clarity of both thought and expression are increasingly rare to be found in scholarly publications. This is however not to say that Geradin <italic>et al</italic> give a simplified or even rose-tinted picture of the use and utility of economics in the application of EU competition law; in fact, the authors might be regarded as doing the exact opposite as, throughout the book, a critical appraisal is not only offered of the (economic and legal) assessment methods as currently practiced by the European Commission and the European Courts but also of (possible and actual) alternatives, restrictions and variations of any such assessment methods as discussed in the academic literature. Moreover, the authors continuously present a comprehensive outline and critical examination of the different methods and approaches which are, or might be, used in relation to the relevant ‘steps’ of EU competition law analysis.</p>
<p>In addition, this...</p>
