What do you think?
Rate this book
Chasing the Harvest: Migrant Workers in California Agriculture
Lives from an invisible community—the migrant farmworkers of the United States
The Grapes of Wrath brought national attention to the condition of California’s migrant farmworkers in the 1930s. Cesar Chavez and the United Farm Workers’ grape and lettuce boycotts captured the imagination of the United States in the 1960s and ’70s. Yet today, the stories of the more than 800,000 men, women, and children working in California’s fields—one third of the nation’s agricultural work force—are rarely heard, despite the persistence of wage theft, dangerous working conditions, and uncertain futures. This book of oral histories makes the reality of farm work visible in accounts of hardship, bravery, solidarity, and creativity in California’s fields, as real people struggle to win new opportunities for future generations.
Among the
Maricruz , a single mother fired from a packing plant after filing a sexual assault complaint against her supervisor.
Roberto , a vineyard laborer in the scorching Coachella Valley who became an advocate for more humane working conditions after his teenage son almost died of heatstroke.
Oscar , an elementary school teacher in Salinas who wants to free his students from a life in the fields, the fate that once awaited him as a child.
The Grapes of Wrath brought national attention to the condition of California’s migrant farmworkers in the 1930s. Cesar Chavez and the United Farm Workers’ grape and lettuce boycotts captured the imagination of the United States in the 1960s and ’70s. Yet today, the stories of the more than 800,000 men, women, and children working in California’s fields—one third of the nation’s agricultural work force—are rarely heard, despite the persistence of wage theft, dangerous working conditions, and uncertain futures. This book of oral histories makes the reality of farm work visible in accounts of hardship, bravery, solidarity, and creativity in California’s fields, as real people struggle to win new opportunities for future generations.
Among the
Maricruz , a single mother fired from a packing plant after filing a sexual assault complaint against her supervisor.
Roberto , a vineyard laborer in the scorching Coachella Valley who became an advocate for more humane working conditions after his teenage son almost died of heatstroke.
Oscar , an elementary school teacher in Salinas who wants to free his students from a life in the fields, the fate that once awaited him as a child.
320 pages, Paperback
Published May 16, 2017
13 people are currently reading
288 people want to read
About the author
Gabriel Thompson
15 books45 followersI have spent most of the past decade working as an independent journalist, writing feature articles about immigration, labor, and organizing for a variety of publications that include the New York Times, Harper’s, Slate, Virginia Quarterly Review, New York, Mother Jones, and The Nation. Most of my magazine writing can be found at https://gabrielthompson.org/
I'm the author of four books, each with deal in some way with the same themes. My newest, out in March 2016, is America's Social Arsonist: Fred Ross and Grassroots Organizing in the Twentieth Century. The book is the first biography of one of the most influential--but little known--community organizers in American history, who mentored both Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta.
I'm currently a Steinbeck Fellow at San Jose State University.
I'm the author of four books, each with deal in some way with the same themes. My newest, out in March 2016, is America's Social Arsonist: Fred Ross and Grassroots Organizing in the Twentieth Century. The book is the first biography of one of the most influential--but little known--community organizers in American history, who mentored both Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta.
I'm currently a Steinbeck Fellow at San Jose State University.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
June 3, 2017
As a child, and grandchild, of migrant farm workers from Mexico this book has given me an unexpected and powerful insight into the hard work, pride, and struggles that my family went through to give me the charmed life I have today.
What struck me the most about this book is the insight, color, and corroboration that the interviews gave to the stories I've heard from my family. While I took all of the stories I heard from my family to heart, reading similar stories from strangers really helped underscore how common those experiences were.
As a native Californian, I was also surprised to recognize so many of the locations mentioned in the book. It's odd to be surrounded by farmland and yet be so unaware of the people who harvest those fields.
This is probably the most important book I've read in years and I recommend it to anybody who lives in California.
What struck me the most about this book is the insight, color, and corroboration that the interviews gave to the stories I've heard from my family. While I took all of the stories I heard from my family to heart, reading similar stories from strangers really helped underscore how common those experiences were.
As a native Californian, I was also surprised to recognize so many of the locations mentioned in the book. It's odd to be surrounded by farmland and yet be so unaware of the people who harvest those fields.
This is probably the most important book I've read in years and I recommend it to anybody who lives in California.
January 5, 2020
Very good read. One of the people in the book says that if you deport all the immigrants, who would do the hard work on the fields?
September 16, 2018
After having read another book of Thompson's ('Working in the Shadows: A Year of Doing the Jobs (Most) Americans Won't Do'), I had been looking forward to this book. It sounded like it was a deeper examination of one of the sections in 'Shadows', where he worked in places like lettuce fields and meat factories.
One detriment of 'Shadows' was that as a white male, Thompson obviously could not fully understand or experience what a non-white immigrant would. It was also a project for him, whereas for just about everyone interviewed in this book, it was a livelihood. It was good that this allowed these individuals to speak for themselves and their experiences.
In a series of interviews/transcripts, various individuals discuss various aspects: their backgrounds, lives, work, highs and lows, families and more. Some of it can get quite repetitive (it's not exactly exciting work), and some of it is harrowing to read. Injuries, illness, fear of law enforcement, sexual harassment and assault, etc. is there. It's not graphic, but it's clear it does occur and that many, if not most, suffer in silence because they fear deportation, need the money, are simply too afraid to come forward, etc.
I do wish the book had included a map or maps to visually display exactly how much some place like California absolutely depends on the people who work in these shadows. Google was sufficient but a map would have been helpful. This wasn't a make or break issue, though.
I recommend this book as as 'Shadows'.
One detriment of 'Shadows' was that as a white male, Thompson obviously could not fully understand or experience what a non-white immigrant would. It was also a project for him, whereas for just about everyone interviewed in this book, it was a livelihood. It was good that this allowed these individuals to speak for themselves and their experiences.
In a series of interviews/transcripts, various individuals discuss various aspects: their backgrounds, lives, work, highs and lows, families and more. Some of it can get quite repetitive (it's not exactly exciting work), and some of it is harrowing to read. Injuries, illness, fear of law enforcement, sexual harassment and assault, etc. is there. It's not graphic, but it's clear it does occur and that many, if not most, suffer in silence because they fear deportation, need the money, are simply too afraid to come forward, etc.
I do wish the book had included a map or maps to visually display exactly how much some place like California absolutely depends on the people who work in these shadows. Google was sufficient but a map would have been helpful. This wasn't a make or break issue, though.
I recommend this book as as 'Shadows'.
October 30, 2022
Raw But Needed
This book gives the reader an in-depth view of the current migrant farmwork situation in California through the actual words of 17 people who live the life. For the most part, we Americans are shielded from the knowledge of the grueling work, substandard living conditions, and constant fear that these workers, mostly Hispanic, must endure daily for the rest of us to munch on grapes without a thought of the efforts required for us to have them. As a conservative, I am in favor of a systematic and orderly immigration policy, I do however concur with former President Reagan in favor of a path to citizenship for workers who have been in the US for a period of 2-5 years working in our food harvests. Overall a very good if uncomfortable read. Very reminiscent of Studs Terkels great books in that the narrative is written by the actual voices of those living the subject matter each and every day.
This book gives the reader an in-depth view of the current migrant farmwork situation in California through the actual words of 17 people who live the life. For the most part, we Americans are shielded from the knowledge of the grueling work, substandard living conditions, and constant fear that these workers, mostly Hispanic, must endure daily for the rest of us to munch on grapes without a thought of the efforts required for us to have them. As a conservative, I am in favor of a systematic and orderly immigration policy, I do however concur with former President Reagan in favor of a path to citizenship for workers who have been in the US for a period of 2-5 years working in our food harvests. Overall a very good if uncomfortable read. Very reminiscent of Studs Terkels great books in that the narrative is written by the actual voices of those living the subject matter each and every day.
September 4, 2017
i really enjoyed reading the various backgrounds and perspectives in this collection of stories. it leaves me wishing their voices were to be continuously shared/ amplified with everyone people in the state, and the country. hope this book becomes required reading for the state of california. we all need to be actively aware and stay up to date on issues affecting the people, their stories and their value as fellow californians, who pick/grow our food throughout the state.
February 27, 2020
Not a review, just a comment: I worked in the stone fruit biz in California before I became disabled. I didn't know when I put this on my wishlist years ago nor when I picked it up to read it this week that Harold McClarty, chairperson of one of our committees, was interviewed in it, but I should have known. Of all the people I've ever met, he'd be the most likely to die of not being able to opine.
October 12, 2020
I'm from the Central Valley region of California and I still learned a lot about my own community from this book. I found especially interesting the experiences of people belonging to Mexican ethnic minorities (as in, native peoples belonging to minority groups even within Mexico) who formed small communities here in the valley. Great way to learn about a place
September 19, 2019
Jævla bra bok. Ho er ei samling av munnlege forteljingar frå ulike landarbeidarar og dyrkarar i California. Diverre var ho ei soge og to for lang, tykkjer eg. Men det er kanskje eg som las henne feil.
December 30, 2019
An interesting and inspiring collection of narratives about mainly Mexican agricultural workers in California and how they have organised to get legislation passed to improve their working conditions, and the living conditions of families.
November 7, 2018
The author interviewed a variety of characters including growers, activists, and people who provided service to farmworkers. This was a very informative reading for me.
May 6, 2021
Personal accounts of the lives that migrant workers lead. Everything from undocumented based workers to union leaders. Great length too: just as I was getting bored, it ended.
Read
May 15, 2018Exceptional collection of experiences that point to the breadth of experiences in the world of migrant workers.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews