Western Pipe and Steel was one of many shipyards called upon to “build ships for victory” in the early days of World War II. But unlike other companies that were thrown together to meet the national emergency, Western Pipe and Steel had the experience and know-how to get the job done; the company had built ships during World War I. With seasoned yard workers, shipbuilding prowess and decades of steelworking success, it knew exactly how to put ships together.

Steel Ships and Iron Pipe is the story of one of San Francisco Bay’s pre-eminent shipyards, written in scholarly yet intriguing detail.

STEEL SHIPS AND IRON PIPE: Western Pipe and Steel Company of California — the Company, the Yard, the Ships

by Dean L. Mawdsley

• Hard cover, 224 pp., 150+ illus., biblio., index
• ISBN 1-889901-28-8
• Price: $29.95

During World War I, American shipping men and German diplomats came together in San Francisco to aid the German war effort by taking advantage of American neutrality laws.

THE SAN FRANCISCO SHIPPING CONSPIRACIES OF WORLD WAR ONE

by David H. Grover

• Soft cover, 180pp., photos.
• ISBN 0-9623935-3-3
• Price: $15.95