"The intriguing story of workplace spy Augusta Clawson and her background in the rare topic of vocational education for women. Beverly Hodgins' personal connection to the women welders is fascinating and clearly drove her meticulous research to uncover yet another aspect of American women's little-known but invaluable contributions on the WWII home front. The Shipyard Agent captures some of the excitement with which women jumped at the chance to learn new skills and work in jobs previously limited to men, as well as the risks to health and safety they incurred while serving their country in wartime." --Mary Cronk Farrell, author of Close-Up on War: The Story of Pioneering Photojournalist Catherine Leroy in Vietnam "The significant employment of women in World War II shipyards has become better recognized during the last few decades. Hodgins' book, however, weaves the story of the wide-ranging Henry Kaiser shipyard innovations with the lesser-known history of a US 'spy'--Augusta Holmes Clawson--who entered the shipyards and became an undercover welder to determine why some women left employment too soon. Hodgins' research provides additional background and context to the story of women's WWII employment and the empowerment that would provide energy to the women's movement decades later--a fascinating tale presaging many of the legal rights and social opportunities of the 1960s onward." --Meg Sondey, American business and Welding history researcher "The Shipyard Agent is a riveting account of women who stepped in during wartime to fill the country's greatest need: building ships. They were agents of change, proving that women had the will and the stamina to do a man's job in this noisy, exhausting, hard physical realm, and their work would influence future generations.

This is a well-researched, engaging book, with stories of the author's own ancestor." --Heidi M. Thomas, award-winning author of Cowgirl Up: A History of Rodeo Women.