The Docks

The Docks is an eye-opening journey into a giant madhouse of activity that few outsiders ever see: the Port of Los Angeles. In a book woven throughout with riveting novelist detail and illustrated with photographs that capture the frenetic energy of the place, Bill Sharpsteen tells the story of the people who have made this port, the largest in the country, one of the nation's most vital economic enterprises. Among others, we meet a pilot who parks ships, one of the first women longshoremen, union officials and employers at odds over almost everything, an environmental activist fighting air pollution in the "diesel death zone," and those with the nearly impossible job of enforcing security. Together these stories paint a compelling picture of a critical entryway for goods coming into the country--the Port of Los Angeles is part of a complex that brings in 40% of all our waterborne cargo and 70% of all Asian imports--yet one that is also extremely vulnerable. The Docks is a rare look at a world within our world in which we find a microcosm of the labor, environmental, and security issues we collectively face. " ... An eye-opening journey into a giant madhouse of activity that few outsiders ever see: the Port of Los Angeles. In a book woven throughout with riveting novelist detail and illustrated with photographs that capture the frenetic energy of the place, Bill Sharpsteen tells the story of the people who have made this port, the largest in the country, one of the nation's most vital economic enterprises. Among others, we meet a pilot who parks ships, one of the first women longshoremen, union officials and employers at odds over almost everything, an environmental activist fighting air pollution in the "diesel death zone," and those with the nearly impossible job of enforcing security. Together these stories paint a compelling picture of a critical entryway for goods coming into the country--the Port of Los Angeles is part of a complex that brings in 40% of all our waterborne cargo and 70% of all Asian imports--yet one that is also extremely vulnerable ..."--Jacket Title......Page 4 Copyright......Page 5 Contents......Page 8 List of Illustrations......Page 10 Preface......Page 12 Introduction......Page 16 1. Valet Parking......Page 20 2. A Carpet of Containers......Page 39 3. Moving Cans......Page 48 4. The Landlord......Page 67 5. The Diesel Death Zone......Page 75 6. The Union......Page 107 7. The Employers......Page 140 8. The Importer......Page 157 9. The Shipper......Page 170 10. Los Troqueros......Page 179 11. The Hold Men......Page 200 12. The Women......Page 219 13. The Clerk......Page 235 14. Security......Page 245 15. The New Normal......Page 269 16. Hawse Piper......Page 279 References......Page 294 B......Page 318 D......Page 319 I......Page 320 M......Page 321 P......Page 322 S......Page 323 W......Page 324 Y......Page 325 Offers a journey into a giant madhouse of activity that few outsiders ever see: the Port of Los Angeles. This book tells the story of the people who have made this port, the largest in the country, one of the nation's most vital economic enterprises.