"The noise was very close to intolerable. The heat was one complete bastard. Little wonder that the old man's socks always smelled like liverwurst bleached for a week in the desert sun." (Chapter 1 page 1)

"Right from the outset, when the call went out for shoprats, my ancestors responded in almost Pavlovian obedience." (Chapter 1, page 5)

"By the age of 10, I realized that my old man was not soon to be confused with Ward Cleaver." (Chapter 1, page 8)

"As my father-in-law saw it, there was only one antidote to our marital woes: finding me gainful employment." (Chapter 3, page 26)

"I was assigned to the Cab Shop, an area more commonly known to its inhabitants as the Jungle." (Chapter 3, page 33)

"It took some doing, but within two or three days I was an accomplished spot welder." (Chapter 3, page 39)

"The one thing that was impossible to escape was the monotony of our new jobs...