Structure

Steven Sheinkin divides The Port Chicago 50 into unnumbered, titled chapters that recount the Port Chicago disaster, mutiny, ensuing trial, and the lives of the convicted long after. The title of each chapter directly reflects the contents of that chapter, with each chapter being arranged chronologically to illustrate unfolding events (with the exception of the chapter The Policy, which goes back in time to examine the history of African-American service in the United States Armed Force). The book is interspersed with numerous photographs of the individuals and events written about, to give readers a clear, visual understanding of who the men involved were, and to see the scope of the disaster at Port Chicago – and what those men involved were actually facing. Importantly, Sheinkin begins the book by listing all 50 men of the Port Chicago 50, so that their names will not be lost to history, and as a...