Arresting, sharply observed, deeply researched and compelling... Plenty of books promise to reveal the secrets of little-known worlds but few actually deliver. This is one that does
Melanie McGrath
Sunday Telegraph
From the always intriguing catalogue of Portobello Books, [this book] goes behind the scenes of those mammoth vessels that ply the oceans bringing us all our lovely stuff
Melissa Katsoulis
Daily Telegraph
As fascinating as it is troublingly insightful... This is a remarkable work of embedded reportage - hair-raising, witty, compassionate - that deserves to be read
Sukhdev Sandhu
Guardian
A marvel of information, insight and intelligence laced with humour, humanity and high spirits
Iain Finlayson
The Times
With her precise and beautiful clarity of prose, [George] has now fired a brilliant star-shell over the wine-dark sea and the ships that pass in its night, illuminating the details of the invisible ocean industry that is, and always will be, essential to all of us
Simon Winchester, author
Atlantic
Fascinating and insightful
Observer
A stunningly detailed and absorbing piece of investigative journalism, combined with a gripping and very human account of a long sea journey, with all its loneliness, fears, and moments of magic
Michael Jacobs, author
Andes
Beautifully captures the surprising nuances of this little-known world... [George's] strong, spare, gleaming prose steams along, powered by curiosity, compassion, outrage. As a writer, a reporter, and a human being, George is-stand by for nautical term-First Rate
Mary Roach, author
Gulp: Adventures on the Alimentary Canal
The two greatest stories are supposed to be "A man goes on a journey" and "A stranger comes to town". In this enthralling, literally wide-ranging book, George tells both: she goes on a voyage that few other journalists have accomplished, and she unveils the unknown seafarers who bring us all the world's goods. Sympathetic, deeply reported and unexpectedly poignant
Maryn McKenna, author
Superbug
To the classic incredible journeys-Moby Dick, Two Years Before the Mast-George adds another, her voyage round the world aboard a container ship, revealing what happens before the big bang of merchandise explodes from the high seas into civilization
Curtis C. Ebbesmeyer, author
Flotsametrics and the Floating World
[An] engaging voyage through the shady world of international shipping
Bookseller
Riveting
Nature
Few readers will be left in any doubt as to the importance of this opaque industry on which we all depend
Sarah Mishkin
Financial Times
It is a travelogue of sorts, written in clear, straightforward English, about the people, pirates and machinery that make up the modern maritime industry
New Statesman
A very good book
Michael Burleigh
Literary Review
A very important book. [George] has vision and curiosity [and she] really does ask the right questions. You should read this book
Lloyd’s List
Absorbing [and] engrossing
New York Times
Cleverly constructed, carefully researched, moving, vivid... Thoughtful and provocative, written with style and passion
Nautilus International
Fascinating
Hythe Herald
A fascinating exploration of the world of container shipping
Yorkshire Post
A remarkable work of embedded reportage - hair-raising, witty, compassionate - that deserves to be read
South China Morning Post
She uncovers many serious (and murky) issues
Pascal Lamy, Former Director General of WTO, Best Books of the Year Excellent... panoramic
Boyd Tonkin
Independent
Interesting, relevant, and [full of] surprising facts
Hill Dickinson Newsletter
Eye-opening
Mail on Sunday
Very readable and compelling
The Maritime Executive
Fascinating [and] troublingly insightful. This is a remarkable work of embedded reportage - hair-raising, witty, compassionate - that deserves to be read by anyone interested in the cartographies of the contemporary world
Sukhdev Sandu
Guardian
Absorbing
Ed Power
Irish Independent




In a work of great insight and sympathy, George conveys the monotony and loneliness of the modern commercial sailor's life while also describing the omnipresent dangers
Tom Moriarty
Irish Times
A very well researched and written appreciation of the modern maritime industry and most of its people
Baird Publications