The Box
Author | : Marc Levinson |
Publisher | : Princeton University Press |
Total Pages | : 540 |
Release | : 2016-04-05 |
ISBN-10 | : 9780691170817 |
ISBN-13 | : 0691170819 |
Rating | : 4/5 (17 Downloads) |
Book excerpt: In April 1956, a refitted oil tanker carried fifty-eight shipping containers from Newark to Houston. From that modest beginning, container shipping developed into a huge industry that reshaped manufacturing. But the container didn't just happen. Its adoption required huge sums of money, years of high-stakes bargaining, and delicate negotiation on standards. Now with a new chapter, The Box tells the dramatic story of how the drive and imagination of an iconoclastic entrepreneur turned containerization from an impractical idea into a phenomenon that transformed economic geography, slashed transportation costs, and made the boom in global trade possible. -- from back cover.