The author starts with the history of risk management in 1905-1912, with a foundation in 1881 by Otto Von Bismarck, and in doing so reaches highlights until 1996, with mentioning the start of “The Global Association of Risk Professionals”. From then on, the book is a succession of articles, classified according to the main topic in chapters, varying in subjects within risk management and difficulty.
Although the author in a funny way in the last chapter denounces the use of jargon, he assumes in the chapters about investments that the reader can follow the reasoning about captives. As a result, it is not a book for higher management, unless they have expertise in this and other matters.
In previous chapters, where he tells history, where he breaks down the icons of risk management, and where he tells the parables, he is much more humane in his language. Towards the end of the book he gives an overview of the history of the captives.
How the book is written makes it difficult to find a common thread. It is more of a book to get a short piece of refreshing ideas about risk management in the evenings or to learn about an aspect of risk management or its history that you were previously unaware of.
Throughout the book, references are made to the works of other authors. Unfortunately, they are not shown in a bibliography at the back.