THE YARD: BUILDING A DESTROYER AT THE BATH IRON WORKS, by Michael S. Sanders, HarperCollins Publishers, New York City, 1999, hardcover, 272 pages, $26.

If you’ve driven Route 1 anywhere near the riverside city of Bath, you could not have failed to notice the two monstrous cranes looming over Bath Iron Works. And as you crossed over the Kennebec River, you could not have failed to see the primary results of the labors of nearly 8,000 BIW workers.

Scattered around the yard and afloat in the river on any particular day are several Arleigh-Burke-class guided missile destroyers in various stages of assembly. These majestically beautiful vessels are, ton for ton, the fastest, most maneuverable, versatile, and perhaps deadliest of any vessel in the United States Navy’s surface fleet. In “The Yard,” Michael S. Sanders takes us on a surprising, revealing, and thoroughly enjoyable tour of Bath Iron Works and the complex work of building a nearly 6,000-ton warship from the ground up.

However, far more than a mere tour of the yard, Sanders presents a detailed exploration of Maine’s largest employer. He starts at the Church Road Office Facility, where most of the design and engineering layouts are conceived. He continues through the construction and launch procedures, and he ends on the final trials where the ship is put through a grueling series of tests and exercises to determine if it qualifies for naval certification.

He introduces us to some of the people who work in the yard — characters all. But whether he’s chatting with “one of the most amazing — and highly respected — mechanics,” Cal Sutter, sitting high in the 400-foot crane with operator Jason “Buffy” Knight, waiting anxiously with Dean Atkinson for a ship to launch, or riding out the final trials with Capt. James McCarthy, the text always flows smoothly and reads like a thriller.

Sanders wonderfully rounds out his characterization with in-depth presentations of the complicated electrical, maintenance and engineering systems, as well as the sheer challenge of moving and manipulating all that steel.

In addition, he delves into the history of the yard, going back 400 years to the birth of shipbuilding in Maine, and tossing in a delightful anecdote about John Wayne single-handedly launching a destroyer.

BIW is the last shipyard to launch its boats down “ways,” or inclined ramps, and its workers openly worry about coming changes. Sanders examines the economic impact such an industrial giant has on the midcoast region and the state. With cuts in military spending, the threat of BIW losing contracts always looms foremost in townspeople’s minds. And there are also the hopes and prayers that BIW will be able to outbid its competitors for future prototypes.

“The Yard” is as exciting as any adventure story. Filled with photographs and illustrations, it’s about building a ship called the USS Donald Cook; it’s about the pride the men who built it have in their work and in their country. It is ultimately moving for its frank honesty in portraying the workers who built the ship and the sailors who entrust their lives to it.