Some legal rules are not laid down by a legislator but grow instead from informal social practices. In contract law, for example, the customs of merchants are used by courts to interpret the provisions of business contracts; in tort law, customs of best practice are used by courts to define professional responsibility. Nowhere are customary rules of law more prominent than in international law. The customs defining the obligations of each State to other States and, to some extent, to its own citizens, are often treated as legally binding. However, unlike natural law and positive law, customary law has received very little scholarly analysis. To remedy this neglect, a distinguished group of philosophers, historians and lawyers has been assembled to assess the nature and significance of customary law. The book offers fresh new insights on this neglected and misunderstood form of law.

Becoming the Beach Boys, 1961-1963, examines the iconic band's origin story: how five teenagers with no musical training formed a band, wrote a song about the surfing craze gripping the West Coast, recorded it with the help of several key individuals, and scored a #3 hit in Los Angeles. They dodged being called the Pendletones, a musical homage to the Pendleton wool shirts favored on chilly nights at the beach, or the Surfers, when fate intervened and gifted them the name Beach Boys. But what separated them from every other high school garage band? Raw talent, persistence, and a wellspring of creativity launched them on a musical journey now in its sixth decade. Helmed by the musical vision of Brian Wilson, one of the twentieth century's most gifted composers, the Beach Boys blended ethereal vocal harmonies, searing electric guitars, and lush arrangements into an unparalleled musical legacy. Drawn from original interviews and newly uncovered documents, the book untangles many of the myths of the band's convoluted early history. It is the true story of how five teenage boys formed America's greatest rock 'n' roll band and the obstacles they overcame on the way to becoming the Beach Boys.

Some legal rules are not laid down by a legislator but grow instead from informal social practices. In contract law, for example, the customs of merchants are used by courts to interpret the provisions of business contracts; in tort law, customs of best practice are used by courts to define professional responsibility. Nowhere are customary rules of law more prominent than in international law. The customs defining the obligations of each State to other States and, to some extent, to its own citizens, are often treated as legally binding. However, unlike natural law and positive law, customary law has received very little scholarly analysis. To remedy this neglect, a distinguished group of philosophers, historians and lawyers has been assembled to assess the nature and significance of customary law. The book offers fresh insights on this neglected and misunderstood form of law.