The Good Lord Hates a Coward: An Account of Life as a Merchant Seaman. Includes a journal of a random drug test

A hearing involving a United States Coast Guard administrative action is convened at a criminal courtroom in Manhattan. Veteran merchant marine captain, Joseph K., has been charged with Misconduct for failing to urinate according to a narrow regulation for a random drug test and for failing to properly document his nonurinator condition. The associated court transcripts and legal briefs serve as an introduction into modern day maritime culture. Personal journals, vessel log books and navigation work books are used to examine related topics including social interactions aboard modern merchant vessels and technical aspects of shipboard life. The theme of modern man and the sea is interwoven throughout the book and serves as as background for a bizarre run-in with the drug testing establishment over federally mandated random drug testing.