The Box: How the Shipping Container Made the World Smaller and the World Economy Bigger

Much as this is predominantly a business book, full of figures and statistics, it's also the gripping tale of a man's vision and ambition, a history book, perhaps even a sociology book. It's often a bit too detailed. There's little chance I'll remember any of the copious data, and the story would have been just as compelling without it, but I guess it was such hard work collecting it (there is no single source for shipping data) that the author did not have the heart to shove it into an appendix.Regardless, I wolfed this book down and it's fair to say I found it entertaining and informative in equal measure. Malcom McLean's invention of the container business is fascinating both from a human perspective (including the catastrophic repercussions this disruptive new technology had on entire communities of longshoremen it made redundant), but also as a history of the heavily regulated postwar economy. So the author takes you blow by blow through the hoops McLean, originally a trucker, had to jump through as he navigated the rules and regulations, the politics of unionised labor, the entrenched railroad and shipping-line monopolies as well as hostile harbors and the high seas. How he took advantage of government subsidies and handouts, how he leaned on his banker (Walter Wriston, no less), how he kept a keen eye on costs, and of course how he was not afraid to follow his gut instinct, twice over to triumph and eventually to ruin.The bigger picture is discussed as well. The container is discussed in the context of globalization, just-in-time manufacturing and the redrawing of the map in terms of manufacturing, urbanisation and economic development in general.

A fascinating blow-by-blow account of how containerisation was conceived and developed and the many challenges it faced. The floodgates finally opened in the 60s and 70s to geographically democratise the manufacturing world as it spread from ships to rail and trucking to provide secure, fast and cheap door-to-door transport. This is also a must-read for anyone who has experienced the trials and tribulations of investing in new technologies exposed to the double-sided sword of economies of scale and open competition. The author describes the early attempts; the success of the visionary Malcom McLean; the struggles to establish standard specifications; the boost provided by the Vietnam War; the endless ups and downs as people caught on to what it would mean for their businesses or their livelihoods; the fight to be ahead of competition and then face the problems of overcapacity; fluctuating oil prices that changed entirely which ships to build; the massive requirements in investment to exploit important economies of scale, way beyond the means of individual companies; the dramatic effects of transport and shipping deregulation. We learn of Panamax vessels; floating highways; of a new breed of shippers that were able to enforce competition and bring prices down; the decimation of dockside communities as well as ports that did not or were not able to adapt; how some unions and vested interests vainly held out against the inevitable; about round-the-world shipping as opposed to point-to-point; ships holding 10,000 containers or more; how most containerisation is actually used for intermediate rather than finished goods. This is a great book.

This book is a wonderful history of something that we take for granted and anyone who travels along our roads, will see every day - the shipping container.It is the contention of the author, and I agree, that this is the single most important, none electronic, development of the 20th Century. It not only reduced the time that ships spent in port, it also moved the port from a coastal or river location to anywhere that containers can be stored and moved.The impact of the container can be seen on every high street where imported goods are purchased. The influx of cheap imports of finished goods and raw materials has led the way to consumer goods at a cost that makes them everyday commodities instead of rare luxuries.An excellent book. If I have one regret, it is far too expensive as an ebook. It's a pity the same economies of scale cannot be aimed at this.

I liked this book a lot. Its a history of the shipping container but it draws in much more. As an aside there is a good account of ports and unionised port labour - and how that influenced the development of the container.What is most striking for a technology that has come to dominate this mode of transport is:* how conservative the industry was at the outset and how much it resisted the container* how quickly the technology changed during the early days - ship sizes, container size, the power of ships, etc.* innovative players often saw the container as a way to improve their advantage. The same process meant that dominant players weren't (initially) interested in the container.Well written and well researched. The evolving story kept me reading in a way that many business books don't achieve.

Brilliant book. The story of the shipping container, well written, captivating and full of detail (but not mundane). If you are interested in the modern world, untold stories, or Business/Start-ups etc. then I'd recommend this book to you.This book is a combination of Moneyball, Business Adventures and Vanished Kingdoms.  Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game  because it is well-written and surprisingly difficult to put down,  Business Adventures: Twelve Classic Tales from the World of Wall Street  because it is clearly thoroughly researched and  Vanished Kingdoms: The History of Half-Forgotten Europe  because I got the same feeling of "I had no idea that any of this happened despite it impacting everything".I hope you enjoy it too!