Check Call: ‘Uncommon Carriers’ brings the freight – and the history

It’s the end of the month, which means it’s time for another book review. We’re taking a step out of management, negotiation, leadership and sales books to the world of transportation from an outsider’s point of view. “Uncommon Carriers” by John McPhee follows the author as he travels with a wide range of carriers.

The book is divided into six essays based on the mode of carrier McPhee is accompanying: hazmat truck drivers, ocean cargo ships, Mississippi River barges, canals of the Northeast, UPS/FedEx and deliveries, and finally freight trains.

Within each story, there is a breakdown of history behind that mode of transportation and some of the little-known facts behind it.

For example, in “Tight-Assed River,” McPhee follows a river barge captain to learn what it’s like traversing the Illinois and Mississippi rivers. Included in the essay is the history of how the river barges got started, what makes good conditions for travel, the impact of the Clean Water Act of 1972 and how the schedule works for those on the barges.

I’ve lived within 50 miles of the Mississippi for most of my life, so it was a history lesson on all the things I see daily.

“Out in the Sort” took the challenge of shipping live lobsters next-day air and how the UPS facility in Louisville, Kentucky, can process an insane number of packages each day. 

“Coal Train” took a journey through one of the busiest rail yards in Nebraska and detailed how intricate rail switches are, as well as how long it can take for a train of coal to get loaded in the mountains while balancing hours of service for the crew.

We also get a peek behind the curtain for answers to some of the questions we all seem to have. Among them are, “How do you even navigate something of that size?” in regard to a container ship, or “How do you get live animals across the world in such a short amount of time without incredible product loss?”

The collection of essays answers those questions with a healthy amount of history added in. 

There is one essay, though – “Five Days on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers” – in which McPhee navigates the canals in the Northeast with his son-in-law in a Henry David Thoreau recreation that can be skipped if you’re not a Thoreau fan. (It doesn’t quite fit with the overall transportation and freight theme of the rest of the book.)

I give the book 3.5 out of 5 stars. McPhee paints a wonderful picture of the people working these jobs, how they ended up in their careers and the seemingly normal aspects of their days that are strange to most of us. The historical context is appreciated even if it is drawn out.

I recommend this for anyone who has a fascination with how things move and work in general, especially if history is anything that interests you. It’s also valuable for those new in the industry who want strong insights into how things work and flow. 

That being said, I wouldn’t move it up your to-be-read list if it’s already on it.

Got a suggestion on what to read next? I’m all ears.

Subscribe to get the full story in your inbox every Tuesday.

The post Check Call: ‘Uncommon Carriers’ brings the freight – and the history appeared first on FreightWaves.