I like the law-in-action approach to contracts found in this casebook. This approach makes the book a little light on the traditional nitty-gritty details of contract formation. While I haven't studied from an alternative casebook, I think Macaulay's law-in-action approach is more relevant to the real world and better prepares lawyers for the types of situations that they are most likely to see in practice.
The book begins with a discussion of remedies and then proceeds through contracts with continuing relations and ends with cases about social control of free contract.