The Box: How the Shipping Container Made the World Smaller and the World Economy Bigger - Second Edition with a new chapter by the author

Levinson's "The Box" is the most comprehensive, reader-friendly book not only on the usage of the shipping container but the shipping and transportation industry itself. The style, a linear, narrative type, gives both the proper historical context of breakbulk shipping preceding containerized freight to the union battles of the 60's, ending with the explosion of Asian container ports in the second decade of the 21st century. Levinson's detailed narrative is great for both readers with experience in this industry and the general audience. However, on occasion, Levinson will mention very specific terminology that can confuse a reader not familiar with logistics and shipping. Everyone reading this review probably knows what a container looks like, but not the specifics, such as the locking mechanisms and the sides to support the weight of multiple containers. It would have been nice to have more photos to illustrate these parts. For the most part, any figures are tables relating to data; useful, but the space should have been used for pictures. Thankfully, Google is a useful ally. With the book being around 500 pages (the last ~100 are references and citations), The Box approaches the border of being too lengthy, but not verbose. If you are looking for a quick, brief understanding of containerized freight, I would suggest another book or a YouTube video. However, if you'd like to learn the history of shipping, containers, transportation, and its affects, both political and economic, then this book is a must.

Good History of the Container. It was well-written, easy to read. The story was interesting. The book was not too long. I would have appreciated more photos/diagrams showing the evolution of the containers, the cranes, the locking mechanisms between containers, and the ships. It would have been nice to see the scale of the ships next to each other to demonstrate the rapid growth. I do feel I learned a bit from the book, and I would probably reread it in the future, as well as to do some more searching online.

Most interesting. Surprising that such a revolutionary concept took so long and was so hard to introduce.

this is an excellent book. It is well-written, and covers everything important: the containers themselves, design problems and standards, shipping methods, etc. i have purchased the follow-on book, outside the box, and am looking forward to reading that too. since i was in a logistics unit in da nang that was part of 1st log. command there were memories-inducing stuff in the book too.

Great history lesson on containers

An amazing read that highlights one of the most significant inventions of the 20th century. We drive past tractor trailers with shipping containers and we hardly ever notice. However this book provides an excellent synopsis of an object we all take for granted and explains its importance.

The original has information on container housing the new version only has information on inter modal shipping and the shipping container business.

For anybody interested in global trade flows this is a must read. Well written and focused on the big picture, told with a focus on the innovators, the winners, and the losers in an unlikely and tumultuous global revolution. The author manages to sketch both individual and structural stories very well. At the end of this book you'll most likely go straight on Google Earth to try to map the flow of containers in your region, unless you'd already done that!

Una bella storia sui container. E di come hanno cambiato la storia (e pure la geografia)

He loved it.

Interesante para aquellos que nos dedicamos a Comercio Exterior. Una fuente que te ayuda a entender mejor cómo una "simple" caja nos ha permitido vivir en un mundo globalizado.

Good book

I am always curious to find literature about modular transport. With this one I found a classic! It puts container business in the wide context of product development, international trade, financing, politics and changing worklife. At times we can only approach things, if somebody tells us a captivating story about them: Marc Livingstone does it with great attention to detail and an easy to read style.