As a retired union boilermaker I’m always a little skeptical when I hear that a book about trade workers purports to be about the working men and women “in the trenches”. While there are no trenches in shipbuilding, this book put me there! The descriptions of the lives and work of the working men and women who build our fighting ships are so well crafted that I was immediately reminded of the smell of burnt-up grinding wheels beveling a sheet of quarter inch plate! Mr. Fabey’s descriptions of the men and women who make up the Newport News Shipbuilding work force are heartfelt and spot on. He has obviously worked dilligently to bring their stories to life, and has done so brilliantly! It is no easy thing to incorporate history, politics (both Washington and military) and real life day to day work into the same narrative and still keep it consistently interesting. I’ll bet that many of the workers profiled never realized that their stories could be so fascinating! He could also not have chosen a more engaging narrator for this tome. Paul Heitsch has a warm, colloquial manner about his narration that is friendly and consistently interesting without being too “conversational” when dealing with relating deep background as it occurs.
As one who has done this work for part of a 25 year career as a heavy industrial boilermaker I can honesly say that I “know” these men and women. I see a little of my personal story in theirs, in my journey from apprentice to journeyman to supervisor and eventually project manager. As an instructor who trained union stewards I have seen all three sides of the business – the working man, the union, and management perspectives. Mr. Fabey dealt with all three with a refreshing even handedness that is unusual in our contentious “us against them” times. Although my entire career was not spent in shipyards (much of it in refineries and powerhouses) I did have my “turn in the barrel” working on modification of a Seawolf-class submarine. Michael Fabey brought me back there for 11 1/2 hours! Such a gift. I was proud to build things that other men couldn’t! I was proud of my craft and my craftsmanship, just as these men and women are.To be able to point to that sub or carrier and say to your kids or grandkids “See that? I was part of that!” Such a feeling! I often tell people that “I don’t miss the work too much, but I do miss the guys!” I was sorry when the ending credits rolled; I’d love to see the sequel! If you’re looking for a read that conjures the age (which is apparently still going on!) when “men were made of iron and ships were made of steel”, then look no further! Bravo Zulu, Michael!