When I was thinking about pursuing a law degree, before I applied to any programs, I decide to take six months and read law textbook, to get a feel for the field and to determine if it was really something I wanted to pursue. So I asked a number of by friends who had degrees in law for recommendations on textbooks.
This is the first one I read. It was quite a good introduction to the field—it didn’t assume that I knew too much, but gave me a decent overview of the field, the major areas, and the in-house terminology.
This text is pricey, but most like this are. You can find some deals on used copies, however. It covers a good but of material in 14 chapters divided into two large sections: the legal system (constitution, court, attorney-client, admin law, criminal, tort, and contract); application of law to individuals (family, vehicles, rent, property, employment, trust and probate. It also includes a lot of case studies, and a good bit of practical application throughout.
Available here on Amazon.