Cover of The Yard: Building a Destroyer at the Bath Iron Works

The Yard: Building a Destroyer at the Bath Iron Works

For a century, the Bath Iron Works has been building some of the finest, deadliest ships in the U.S. Navy. But now the Maine shipyard is facing mounting competition and a pressing need to modernize, especially in the way it launches ships. No more will the great gray leviathans roar down the "ways"—the traditional inclined ramp—into the Kennebec River; this ancient technology will give way to the modern dry dock.

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The Yardcaptures this moment of change and the end of an era, as old ways give way to new, through the eyes of the workers as they build and launch a U.S. Navy destroyer. From the first cutting of steel to the destroyer's triumphant commisioning, Michael Sanders chronicles the complex evolution of a ship coming into being—and the incredible world in which it happens. It is a world rich in danger, humor, and lore, one filled with uncertainty, hope, and not a little fear of change as this venerable company fights against steep odds to find its place in a new world.

Audience
adult

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