Literary theory: The antitrust books you should have read in 2019

The past year was an exceptionally good one when it comes to the publication of antitrust books. New editions of authoritative textbooks were published, including the 7th edition of Jones & Sufrin (the 9th edition of Whish & Bailey was released in 2018) . New entrants also dared challenge the incumbents: Lianos, Korah & Siciliani released their own competition law tome. Given that all of these textbooks were published with Oxford University Press, intra-brand competition seems stronger than inter-brand competition.

However, 2019 also saw the growth of a slightly different market (or at least sub-market): that of antitrust books aimed at a wider audience. The charge was led by authors that are well-known in antitrust circles such as Tim Wu, but also includes less familiar names such as Thomas Philippon. It is striking that the great majority of these books come from the US, where an antitrust revival appears to be ongoing. This article takes a closer look at this category of books, which—despite appealing to a wider audience—make outstanding reading for even the most seasoned antitrust experts.