Book excerpt: Driven piles are the oldest known form of deep foundations, and remain the most reliable today. Vulcan Iron Works produced reliable, rugged pile hammers, some of which remain in service after a century in the field. Now the hammers and the piles are put together in a complete reference that discusses all of the various types of pile driving equipment, including air/steam, diesel, hydraulic, vibratory and others. Extensive material on accessories and leaders is also included. A description of the drivability analysis process has a worked example to make the concepts more easily understood. In addition to this, extensive resources from the Vulcan and Raymond library are included, including the User's Guide to Safe Operation, an expanded Data Manual, sections from the Raymond Superintendent's Handbook, and field service manuals for Vulcan onshore and offshore air/steam hammers, diesel hammers, vibratory hammers and the DGH series hammers.