UNKNOWN

Another Leg in the Pipeline is a humorous but fictional diary of the general manager of a leading life insurance company in Asia. Anyone who works in the insurance sector - or anyone who has had an unpleasant experience with an insurer - should find it entertaining.

The diary chronicles the day-to-day interactions of the subject, Phteven, and the various flotsam and jetsam of the insurance world - including regulators, actuaries, in-house counsel, HR, the media and reinsurers. The diary manages to poke fun at the pomposity of many in the insurance sector - particularly those who make their annual pilgrimages to Monte Carlo and Baden-Baden for 'work'.

For avid readers, this is actually the second diary from Phteven - the first was published almost two decades ago in the book 'Licking a Tramp', which chronicled Phteven's time as a marketing executive in the banking sphere in the Middle East.

Readers of that volume will see that Phteven has matured a little - but not much - and that this new area of the financial services arena offers as much scope for gentle ridicule and brutal observation.

Mr Paul McNamara is a journalist, editor, author and biographer with extensive experience in Asia, the UK, the Arabian Gulf and Australia covering the wholesale financial markets. Over the years he has worked for the Financial Times Group, Fairfax Media, Euromoney Institutional Investor, CPI Financial, Yasaar Media and Eaglemont Media.

His areas of specialisation include insurance, reinsurance, risk, Islamic finance, investment banking, project finance, trade finance, wealth management, private equity, hedge funds and alternative investments, the Middle East banking and finance industry, GCC capital markets and the world of interest rate securities.

Over the years he has launched numerous publications that have gone on to define their markets, including Shares Magazine in Australia, Banker Middle East Magazine and Private Equity and Hedge Funds Middle East in the UAE and The Islamic Globe newspaper in London.

He is also the author of numerous books including Qatar Takes Off, The History of Banking in the UAE, The History of the National Bank of Abu Dhabi, Dubai Islamic Bank: 35 Glorious Years, Understanding Interest Rate Securities, Business Doha, Uttar Pradesh: Modern Business Hub, Abu Dhabi and Dubai: Young and Rich and many others.

He has a BA (Hons) in politics, philosophy and economics from Christ Church, Oxford University.