Mark Levinson – The Box: How the Shipping Container Made the World Smaller and the World Economy Bigger, 2nd ed.

Mark Levinson – The Box: How the Shipping Container Made the World Smaller and the World Economy Bigger, 2^nd ed.

A history of container shipping. Far more interesting than it sounds; these types of books often are. Something as simple as a standardized shipping container size revolutionized the global trading system, caused the rise and fall of cities and entire industries, caused bitter labor disputes and roiled unions, changed national economic development patterns, and even had foreign policy implications. All this happened over only about three decades.

This story also has the added benefit of a compelling and eccentric personality, Malcom McLean, playing a large role, which makes for even more interesting reading.