Saturday, August 17, 2019

William Langewiesche, The Outlaw Sea *** 1/2

I'm giving The Outlaw Sea the same rating as I did the first time I read it, but the impressions I took from it were different. The first time I felt that Langewiesche effectively laid out the complexities of  international shipping; this time I found the discussion superficial. This time I was struck by how the chapter about shipbreaking in India lays out a case that environmental regulation is a form of cultural imperialism. ("The question I want to ask the environmentalists is if you should want to die first of starvation or pollution.") Reading it, I was reminded of Strangers in Their Own Land, where Louisianans are against environmental regulation intended to help them.

One thing that didn't change between readings: Langewiesche does an excellent job of pulling together all of the complex details to create a dramatic narrative. Each chapter has a shipwreck at its center, and they are all exciting.

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