The Yard: Building a Destroyer at the Bath Iron Works

Every summer, thousands of people drive through Bath on their way to coastal Maine. If they are like this reviewer, many of them look at the Bath Iron Works as they pass by and wonder how those worthy ships get built. Well, wonder no longer. The Yard tells the story, and tells it very well.

I could not put this book down. "The Yard" is without a doubt the best industrial/military history I have read in years. Sanders delivers a complete understanding of the incredible complexity in building a warship, the interactions of the many trades involved, the context of the community and the workers, and the military-industrial dialogue necessary to the realization of the Aegis program. In addition, Sanders , in the most dramatic and eloquent chapter, describes in detail the launching of the Donald S. Cooke, a process with technological antecedents to the beginnings of shipbuilding history. Because of competition from technically advanced shipbuilding yards, Bath Ironworks will launch its last vessel from the traditional ways this winter. A massive renovation of the yard with a floating drydock for launching vessels is currently underway . Sanders has done a superb job describing the entire process from the first steel bending to the menu served on the comissioning cruise. He deserves top honors for "The Yard".

Hard hats off to Michael Sanders for a magnificent book! He has presented a thoroughly researched and extremely well written account of life inside Bath Iron Works. In the space of only 236 pages, he manages to portray just how difficult and dangerous an occupation shipbuilding is.(I know; I currently work at Bath Iron Works and spent several months on the USS Donald Cook.) I found the book to contain just the right combination of the basics of ship design and construction, and a wonderful human interest story. I highly recommend this book to everyone!

A great story about craftmanship, pride of workmanship and dedication. The Bath Iron Works does a great job building ships of war and they do it with a sense of pride and craftmanship which is all too rare in our country today. This is a wonderful tale about the people at the yard. Read it!

This book details the building and fitting out of an Arleigh Burke class destroyer, the Donald Cook, at Bath Iron Works, Maine. From the initial design, cutting and bending plate, assembling the modules, installation, launch, crew training and trials, the whole process is described through the stories of the men and woman who build and work on the Destroyers. A number of photographs and illustrations help the reader to understand the various processes involved, although the book is mostly text. Sanders has an easy writing style that lets him relate complex details in an easily understandable way. When you put this book down, you will have a greater understanding of not only warship construction, but why people do difficult, dangerous work for less than they might make elsewhere. You will also learn a bit about piloting, how to launch a large ship, and the lore of commissioning ceremonies, and even the training of a ship's crew.I really enjoyed this book a lot, and recommend it to those interested in modern warships and their construction.