|
Nearly all data/information, most of which the author collected and/or tabulated himself (and in many cases developed himself) is from the early 1990s and the late 1980s. A chapter (or at least a few pages instead of a sentence or two) adressing this aspect of the business is needed. This is desprite the fact taht these chages are probably the most radical to maritime trade since the end of WWII. The book does not, however, prvoide (nor is it intended) a "micro" analysis as to how business is conducted on a day-to-day basis (i.e., bunkering, role of different crew members, role of agents, etc). b) Little discussion regarding the market for crews.
Perspective is provided on the growth of volume of trade over time, geographic areas the ship construction business and financing in this field (among many other areas). This most important weakness by far. Immense changes resulting from seaborne trading patterns due to China's and emergin nation's economic integration into the global economy are hence not discussed in the book. This is despite the fact that the author himself expllicitely states this is a critical bottleneck for the industry. This book provides an excellent introduction to the "macro" issues surrounding the shipping trade.
For an excellent introduction to this one should instead refer to "The Business of Shipping" Books weaknesses are:a) Dated information. This problem will hopefully be remedied in the new edition of the book which is to be released January 2009.
I receive a very good article ( new book as I ordered but i got the book 10 days after the delivery date). So, if you can make your delivery on time it will be better.Thanks
And for this, the quickest update will be had from the Clarkson Shipping Review and Outlook, which is updated semi-annually. When looking for shipping data, or in doubt about a definition or a topic, go to Maritime Economics first. The data are all in need of updates. Also don't forget to check out the freebies on the Clarkson website.Clearly, we all await a newer edition.
It's a shame such a good book's lessons were marred and undermined by such shoddy editing. These spelling and other errors are not just small mistakes that can be overlooked. However, I regret that I cannot give this work five stars. At times, I found it very difficult to even follow the book's lessons because spelling and grammatical errors made it hard, if not impossible, to determine what lesson Mr. I found Mr.
Stopford was trying to impart to the reader. The volume I purchased contains far too many spelling and grammatical mistakes, no doubt due to poor editing by Routledge. Stopford's book was a comprehensive and detailed discussion of the arcane field of maritime economics and finance. A small number of reviewers were impressed by this work and that accolade is understandable and, for the most part, well warranted. I believe that anyone interested in this field, particularly maritime attorneys, ship financing brokers, maritime finance department representatives, ocean carrier finance departments, and other players will find it very useful.
There are far too many distracting errors that greatly undermine the usefulness of the book.
It is the Bible of Shipping, a must for anyone interested on the Maritime World
|
