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Top Headlines

For Immediate Release
November 4, 1999

Contact:

Beryl Wolfe
(207) 775-5115

Maine Author Explores Unique Marriage of High-Tech and Centuries-Old Traditions at Bath Iron Works

'The Yard' Receives Rave Reviews from the New York Times, Boston Globe

The Maine author of the recently-released book, "The Yard," said he decided to tell the story how a ship is built at Bath Iron Works along Maine's rocky coast after viewing the impressive launch of the USS Sullivans in 1996.

"It was the largest moving, man-made object I had ever seen up close," said Michael Sanders. "I left with the overwhelming desire to get even closer, to learn from the men who had made it, how they made it and to hear what I knew would be their great stories of what went on behind the shipyard gates."

And closer he came. Sanders spent two and a half years visiting and interviewing some of the best shipfitters, welders, electricians, tinknockers and others among the workforce of 7,800 at the yard who put the ships together, piece by piece, virtually by hand.

The book, published by HarperCollins Nov. 1, received glowing reviews from the New York Times Book Review this week (Nov. 7) and the Boston Globe (Oct. 25). Though centered around the construction and launch of a single destroyer, the book is rich with anecdotes and stories of shipyard and Navy lore. Sanders also spent time with the ship's first crew, capturing their perspectives and experiences as they made the ship their own.

"Bath Iron Works is the most magical place you can imagine," says Sanders, who has been writing since high school. A resident of Brunswick, Maine, Sanders worked at a local bookstore while writing "The Yard," his first book. He also worked as an editor at Poseidon Press, Simon & Schuster and Pocket Books before turning to writing full time.

Book signings and readings with the author have been scheduled throughout New England, including Maine, New Hampshire, Virginia and Maryland, and at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C.

The next Maine book signing and reading will be at 7 p.m. Dec. 11 at Borders Books in South Portland. The book, which is sold in all major book stores in the U.S., has been selling well and has received very good reviews. It also has been selected by three national book clubs as a featured book.

"I think this kind of book has become popular because the audience for it is very well defined," Sanders said. "The book appeals to people who love the sea and ships, men and women who serve or served in the Navy or military and also those of us who just like to read a great story about an unusual and amazing place like Bath Iron Works."


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