GENERAL TREATISES

Believe it or not, there is an entire body of literature dealing with the law of gifts. For instance, there is an earlier work by the prolific author W.W. Thornton:

A Treatise on the Law Relating to Gifts and Advancement (1893). The call number is T T3978g 1893, and the book is found in the Lower East Side of the library and there is also a copy in the Rare Book Room.
The library also owns a mid 20th-century treatise on the law of gifts by Kenneth J. O'Connell, appropriately titled

Outline of the Law of Gifts (1957). The call number is KF716.022, and it is located on the fourth floor of the law library.

RESTATEMENTS

Not to be outshone by any individual author, the American Law Institute (ALI) has published a Restatement covering the law of gifts. The ALI was not satisfied with the pedestrian term "gift," so it chose the venerable legalese phrase "donative transfer." Do not be fooled by this term. Donative Transfer = Gift.

Restatement of the law, second: property: donative transfers (1990). The call number is KF613.A42, and the text is located on the fifth floor of the law library.

GIFT TAX

This is America -- there are tax consequences for everything, including many complex rules related to giving and receiving gifts. To research the important tax ramifications attached to those shares of Intel stock, nifty beachside real estate, or new BMW on your gift list, you might begin with Yale's very own Professor Boris Bittker's

Federal Taxation of Income, Estates, and Gifts (3rd edition) (1999). This is a new arrival in the library. In fact, it's so new that it's not on the shelf yet. Once it gets entered into the online catalog, it will be shelved on the 4th floor of the library. Its call number will most likely be KF6335 .B48 1999.

GIFT TAX STATISTICS

If you're interested in historical quantitative analysis of the gift tax, you could consult the IRS publication,

Statistics of Income. Fiduciary, Gift, and Estate Tax Returns. (1967). Its call number is SSJ +Un368f 1958-62. This title is located in the library's off-site storage facility. You can request it online through the Eli Express Request form:. Your request can be processed and the book retrieved for you in about a day.
Charitable Gifts: Many of us are not selfish with gifts. We find some largesse left over for the more unfortunate in our society. But before you drop some change in the Salvation Army bell-ringer's red bucket, you might want to consult Bruce R. Hopkins's

The Tax Law of Charitable Giving (1993). The call number is KF6388.H63 1993, and the book is located on the fourth floor of the library.
The Gift of Self: Perhaps the best gift of all is a gift of one's self. Figuratively this can mean giving of one's time, talents, and/or emotional support. In a literal sense, it means a gift of various and sundry body parts, or the whole thing if you're contemplating the eminently noble gesture of "donating your body to science." There is great demand for these gifts, especially for healthy and functioning organs. Unfortunately, the demand far exceeds the supply. Louis J. Palmer advocates one possible source for organ "donations" in his interesting if somewhat disturbing book,

Organ Transplants from Executed Prisoners: an Argument for the Creation of Death Sentence Organ Removal Statutes (1999). The book is located on the fourth floor of the library. Its call number is KF3827.D66 P35 1999.
Death and Gifts? Gifts, like taxes, also accompany the subject of mortality. The law library owns several resources dealing with gifts made in contemplation of death (gifts causa mortis) and gifts made through wills or other instruments. For example, there are older works that may help you to gain an historic view of the topic, such as John R. Rood's

A Treatise on the Law of Wills: Including also Gifts Causa Mortis and a Summary of the Law of Descent, Distribution and Administration (1904). The call number is Fiche M191 fiches 4,420-4,427. c.1. The work can be found in the microform room on the second floor of the library.
And for a look at how different cultures have treated the subject, see Reuven Yarons.

Gifts in Contemplation of Death in Jewish and Roman Law (1960). The call number is JL 46 Y22 1960 and it is shelved on the Lower East Side of the law library.

THE SOCIAL SCIENCE TAKE ON GIVING

The law library owns many texts produced by academics from the social sciences. Several of these discuss aspects of giving and the notion of gifts in broader social contexts. Check out these titles:

Transformative Motherhood: On Giving and Getting in a Consumer Culture (1999), edited by Linda L. Layne. This book is located on the Upper East Side of the law library. Its call number is HQ759.T74 1999.

The Gift: An Interdisciplinary Perspective (1996), edited by Aafke E. Komter. This book is located on the Upper East Side of the law library. Its call number is HM291.G53 1996.

The Gift: The Form and Reason for Exchange in Archaic Societies (1990), by Marcel Mauss, translated by W.D. Halls. The call number is GT3040.M3813 1990, and it too is found on the Upper East Side of the law library.