STEEL BEAMS AND IRON MEN

Cherry, a school teacher turned iron worker, has written adult books about both his occupations. Here the subject of On High Steel (1974) is scaled to juvenile proportions, and the style is a breezy juvenile version of the vernacular he affected in the earlier book. Cherry tells of spills and safety measures, of putting on the squares on the ground, of liberating mungo (stealing metal scrap) and booming (going far afield to find work) in hard times. He recalls cool responses to emergencies followed by ""a hell of a case of the shakes when the day is over."" Among the rewards of the job, he counts the satisfaction of making something towering and concrete, the thrill of high places, and the pride in conquering fear. They also give it glamour and fascination for non-iron workers, youngsters included, and Cherry's combination of hard fact and personal anecdote prove highly enjoyable reading. The black-and-white photos, too, are tops--some of them real stomach-flippers.