'Rodney Brazier has achieved considerable success in bringing to bear the perspective of a constitutional lawyer in considering our forms of government...There is no question about the high standards of accuracy observed throughout the book..The value of the first edition is that it offers a lucid and scholarly description and anlysis of the position of Ministers of the Crown prior to general election in May 1997...There is no-one better qualified to select both the topics and the emphasis. He has written a scholarly, perceptive and constructive addition to the literature of constitutional law.' The Cambridge Law Journal 1997
'Professor Rodney Brazier's latest work is a marvellous storehouse of information about the rules that govern the lives and times of ministers. Nothing like it has appeared since Sir Ivor Jenning's "Cabinet Government"....The ministerial life cycle is here minutely examined.'
'Few, if any, recent texts on constitutional practice and law could be considered interesting, readable and comprehensive. This volume is undoubtedly the exception, and cannot be too highly recommended. It covers virtually every aspect of ministerial life in some depth, and in a manner which manages to be not only explanatory but also enlightening...Not only does Professor Brazier achieve a high degree of comprehensiveness, but every topic which is covered in this book is illustrated by historical or contemporary examples, making it a really invaluable reference work. Impeccably resourced and referenced through copious footnotes, the text nevertheless manages to remain readable - concise and illuminating rather than dense and verbose. It seems unlikely that any other academic will attempt to better this volume for some time to come. No-one working in politics could fail to learn something new and useful from reading this excellent text.' Conor Mcgrath in The Parliamentary Monitor January 1998
'A book that describes and analyses the rule under which they operate is a welcome addition to the literature already available. 'Ministers of the Crown' aims to provide "everything that anyone would want to know about the constitutional position of members of Government" and it succeeds...an excellent reference book and, for anyone interested in the detail of government, it is a book to dip into and enjoy..It contains a wealth of information, is meticulously researched and footnoted,and is peppered with examples and illustrations which prevent what might be potentially tedious material from becoming dull. It is difficult to find shortcomings in the book.' Diana Woodhouse in Public Law 1997
'The book offers a deep treasure trove of factual information. Matters of fairly common Knowledge are reprised succintly and coherently.'
'This book is an important and substantial examination of Britain's governmental engine-room...It is massively factual and sensibly laid out with the appropriate references given as footnotes on each page...One particular value of the book is that it prints in full, and uses as a major source, that very strange document "Questions of Procedure for Minsiters"..The book is full of much detail, all of it accurate.'
'Brazier is thoroughly at home among constitutional minutiae, his understanding butressed by knowledge of mountains of precedents...Ministers of the Crown will become an authoritative work of reference...an important work of reference in the unfashionable field of constitutional law. It will be of great value to all those seeking to get to grips with our untidy constitution.' * The Times Higher Education Supplement *
