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Container shipping is a vital part of the global economy. Goods
from all around the world, from vegetables to automobiles, are
placed in large metal containers which are transported across the
ocean in ships, then loaded onto tractor-trailers and railroad
flatbeds. But when and where did this world-changing invention get
started? Â This fascinating study traces the birth of
containerization to Port Newark, New Jersey, in 1956 when trucker
Malcom McLean thought of a brilliant new way to transport cargo. It
tells the story of how Port Newark grew rapidly as McLean’s idea
was backed by both New York banks and the US military, who used
containerization to ship supplies to troops in Vietnam. Angus
Gillespie takes us behind the scenes of today’s active container
shipping operations in Port Newark, talking to the pilots who guide
the ships into port, the Coast Guard personnel who help manage the
massive shipping traffic, the crews who unload the containers, and
even the chaplains who counsel and support the mariners. Port
Newark shines a spotlight on the unsung men and women who help this
complex global shipping operation run smoothly. Since McLean's
innovation, Port Newark has expanded with the addition of the
nearby Elizabeth Marine Terminal. This New Jersey complex now makes
up the busiest seaport on the East Coast of the United
States. Some have even called it “America’s Front
Door.” The book tells the story of the rapid growth of
worldwide containerization, and how Port Newark has adapted to
bigger ships with deeper channels and a raised bridge. In the end,
there is speculation of the future of this port with
ever-increasing automation, artificial intelligence, and
automation.
Two American Studies professors from Rutgers University here show
how the New Jersey Turnpike--that "ugly icon, '' America's "widest
and most traveled'' road--has found its way into the minds, if not
the hearts, of artists and drivers alike. In poet Allen Ginsberg,
singer Bruce Springsteen, commuters and roadside home owners lulled
to sleep by its drone of traffic, this 12-lane asphalt monster has
inspired powerful reactions, from admiration to anger. The authors
consider the first asparagus patch plowed up to lay the road; the
$70,000 salary a contemporary toll-taker can earn with hefty
overtime; and the not infrequent lawlessness of the highway patrol.
From the gray-flannel-suit diligence that built it, to the mixture
of necessity, practicality and venality that maintains it, the New
Jersey Turnpike proves to be an enthralling though unlikely
subject.
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