Clive Wilkinson's Reflections from the Monkey Deck is a personal account of freighter travel in the modern age. A patchwork of meteorology, mythology, geography, geology, religion and human interest, the narrative operates on many different levels and is so much more than just a book on travelling the world on container ships. It compels the reader to keep going as the text darts from historical insight, to geographical information, to mythology to commentary about the passengers and crew. Reflections from the Monkey Deck is not only a nautical journey but also one of self-reflection on the part of the author as he draws on past experiences from his own life and links them to places that the ship visits on its journey across the world. It is a fascinating read based on a wholly different perspective of that usually offered to the modern seafarer.