By: Adam RaphaelPublisher: Transworld/Bantam Press, 61-63 Uxbridge Rd.,
London, W5 5SA, U.K., 335 pages.
Three hundred years old, Lloyd’s of London was once a byword for fair dealing and trustworthiness. It was brought to the brink of financial catastrophe by rampant greed and dubious practices, which were allowed to flourish unchecked by the management.
It’s a fascinating story,part morality tale and part corporate intrigue, that is made all the more interesting because of the spirited narrative, which sets down the facts but never ignores the human element. The author is a distinguished journalist, but his own enormous losses have made him less than completely disinterested.
The book’s tone is irate, but the author never loses his perspective. The story of Lloyd’s financial misadventures and its prospects for the future is engagingly and carefully laid out in a cautionary tale which, as yet, has no happy ending.
**Sumber foto: Asiaweek
