The shipping industry’s primary task is to all intents and purposes discipline, to comply with manuals and guides as well as perform the disciplinary tasks of education and training to avoid maritime accidents of any kind which conversely can prove for all stakeholders, equipment and nature (environment) disastrous!
Manuals are lists of instructions to do something. Equally ashore one has to keep up and run the shipping adventure in a manner that doesn’t bring the lenders into a position to call off the loans and end up with the loss of the ship or ships if the shipowner doesn’t perform. The securitisation of the shipping loans from the risk point of view to the fullest extent, is of paramount importance and these are tested now in what has proved to be the worst shipping recession of all times. It coincides with the worst global economic crisis of all times, which can deteriorate even further. In the case of this book on the “Reflections and the Road Ahead” for Greece and the world at large, this was the best moment for this ultra specialist work to be aired; John Faraclas writes:
You cannot review a book of this kind – a manual so to speak as the authors have branded same, given its contents and purpose, unless you read, study same, run contrarian exercises and try to “challenge” the authors of all chapters with the perspective and “policy” in mind with which each contributor and team has been involved. An Aristotelian Constructive Criticism is a difficult task though… This book-manual brings you back to Plato’s Republic on “Whether the Philosophers become Kings and the Kings Philosophise”…
Dr. Platon Monokroussos presenting the book; on the right the panel with Prof. Kevin Feartherstone, Dimitris D. Thomakos, Konstantinos I. Nikolopoulos and Dimitris Vayanos (not in the picture)
You need to be an expert in many business and economic sciences to understand what all the equations within the various chapters really mean. Life, as Albert Einstein once said for himself, is divided between politics and equations! Equations as he also said are for eternity…so one can get the meaning of these invaluable equations used in this book! What is for sure is that this book cannot be understood by the politicians both in Greece, Europe and on Planet Ocean, as with exemption, very few understood what was happening, what happens right now and what will happen in the future both in the short and long run. It took me a fortnight to go through this volume, spending on average two hours a day and I have concluded that this is the masterpiece of its kind.
Only if you read this exposition with care can you address relevant questions to all those involved in the Greek, European and Global Crisis and Mess we live in. Can most of them (politicians MPs and MEPs et al) understand an iota of all the mess they have wrought on the Global Economy with detrimental consequences if the going gets tough and we don’t get rid of many political and business hooligans world-wide here and now?
The benefits of this international coherently-produced work is second to none. This manual we recommend to and for all relevant academic studies, a great reference book, a guide too, needless to say the armoury which can help you avoid and counter similar crises looming in the background as we might well say in the Shipping Industry, this is the ISM (International Safety Management) Code for Nations wishing to survive.
Moreover, as we all understand, difficult and hard times provide real opportunities and those who are able to see it through will emerge both as good leaders and successful nations, making the much needed significant changes otherwise not normally possible! This book has some home truths about disaster planning and remedies too. Indispensable!
This book of just over 300 pages is in three parts:
Part One treats of “the Industry Perspective” and includes five interesting contributions by Inachos Lazos, Fabrice Montagne, Athanassios Vamvakidis, Ralf Sueppel and Marcel Kasumovich.
Part Two refers to “The Case of Greece” with six fascinating analyses, reports and views from Dr. Platon Monokroussos, Dimitrios D. Thomakos, Fokion Karavias, Alexis Anagnostopoulos, Gregorios D. Siourounis and Konstantina Kottaridi.
Part three turns to “Crisis Economics and the road ahead” with three further relevant essays by Shanti P. Chakravatry, Alex Patelis and Micahel Argyrou.
A great finale in the form of the afterword “The Road Ahead” by Dr. Platon Monokroussos, Dimitrios Thomakos and Konstantinos Nikolopoulos!
I was fortunate to participate in the launching of the book at the Hellenic Observatory at the LSE on the 17th of March. A full house at the Wolfson Theatre in the New Academic Building heard the eloquent Dr. Monokroussos, main speaker and introducer of this great book as well as Kostas Nikolopoulos and Dimitris Thomakos. The event was chaired by Prof. Kevin Featherstone, and many bankers, academics, leaders of bankers associations and students attended. Excellent!
This Palgrave Macmillan book must be your companion. For ordering same please log on to www.palgrave.com
