I think it was Otto von Bismarck who said “If you like laws and sausages, you should never watch either one being made." So, yes, this book is a little like watching (trade) sausage being made, in a room of full of stuffy lawyers and politicians...

The first part of the book is a little more technical and, shall we say, dry than the second part. Methinks only lawyers, technical writers, and maybe accountants will truly enjoy these chapters.

The second part is a little more lighthearted and discusses some of the more pressing issues involving trade these days. Most of us would have come for this.

The author does have a gift for making the impenetrable more palatable, with perhaps some of the clearest explanations of trade policy ever written; he deserves immense kudos. Unfortunately, this was not the the book that I had in mind when I thought I was going to learn more about trade. I learnt, yes, but it was like opening your mom's bedside table drawer cause she asked you to fetch her glasses, and finding out... Anyways, that kind of learning.

Recommended for all who want to know more about the policy aspects of trade.