The success of the Beatles, it is said, derives not only from their being the best in their field but from their timeliness. The 16th edition of Arnould is unlike the Beatles. It is the culmination of a distinguished tradition which has accompanied, if not to a large extent driven, the growth of the uncodified and codified common law of marine insurance in the era of the Lloyd’s S.G. policy. In that respect, the publication of the two main volumes of the 16th edition was timely, for it occurred (in 1981) the year before the present MAR forms and revised Institute Clauses rewrote the core of the law of marine insurance as it applies in practice. For maximum utility in practice, law books need to be up to date. But there is a danger in holding back completion of a book until impending changes occur (if the consolidation of the Merchant Shipping Acts had not been threatened as