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From the Folks Who Brought You the Weekend: An Illustrated History of Labor in the United States
From the folks Who Brought You the Weekend is an history of labor in the United States, capturing the full range of working people's struggles, from indentured servants and slaves in the seventeenth-century Chesapeake to high-tech workers in contemporary Silicon Valley.
416 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2000
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews
December 31, 2021
“From The Folks That Brought You The Weekend” is a great idea—and a great title—for a book about labor struggles in America. Sadly, this book by Murolo and Chitty doesn’t come close.
Alarm bells sounded as early as page 2, when the authors write of pre-Columbian interaction between the New World and Old. Supposed Roman coins found in the Americas and Mayan sculptures that had “African features”? Native American spear points in Ireland and Scotland? This is pseudoscience.
The day I wrote the above paragraph I had lunch with University of Kansas bio-anthropologist and author Jennifer Raff. Jenny, a science communicator and science literacy advocate, confirmed that the supposed evidence for the above claims is bogus.
In the introduction on page xii the authors state that “Almost none of the material comes from our own research”. They use no footnotes, cite no sources, and openly state that the recommended reading list at the end of the book isn’t a list of sources. Read that again. There are no sources to which the reader can refer. Taken along with the ridiculous claims of Old World interactions with the Americas mentioned above, as well as the issues mentioned below, where is the foundation of academic credibility for this work? There is none.
Observe an irony: Robber Baron Jay Gould (1836-1892) wrote a nearly five hundred page history of early Delaware County, New York that used primary sources and interviews with descendants of witnesses. The book is cited by historians to this day. While Gould is worthy of scrutiny and harsh criticism for his predatory capitalism, Murolo attributes a quote to Gould he likely never said, specifically, “I can hire one-half of the working class to kill the other half.” The quote originally cited farmers, not the working class, and was first attributed to Gould by one of his political enemies.
Insofar as accuracy, is it too much too much to expect that UFW member Nagi Daifallah’s murder (page 260) be reported accurately? The authors claim he was shot by police. It was far worse than that. He was brutally beaten to death by a police officer armed with a flashlight.
On page 86 they write this about the South’s cassus belli leading to the Civil War, “Moreover, neither side at first identified the war as a conflict over slavery. The Confederacy claimed to fight for states’ rights to independence….”
This is absolute nonsense, and parrots the highly racist “Lost Cause” rationalizations of post-war southern apologists who claim the South’s secession wasn’t about slavery. The articles of secession specifically state secession was about slavery. Vice President Alexander Stephens’ “Cornerstone Speech” clearly says the war was about slavery. Virtually everything written on this issue before the end of the war by southern politicians, diarists, soldiers, journalists, theologians and academics cite slavery (and its maintenance) as the reason for their belligerence and secession.
The authors mention nothing of the fact that one fourth of southern population held slaves and property worth HALF the total wealth of the United States before secession. In a work on American labor, how does one miss that? There is no mention of northern labor unrest during the war. There is not a peep about the tragic New York Draft riots, which were born of resentment by unskilled Irish immigrants against competition by free blacks.
This work has no mention of pre-Civil War racist laws in Illinois and Indiana prohibiting the entry of free blacks or their hire by prospective white employers. That’s a labor issue.
And while lacking all that, the authors continually drift into lengthy historical narratives that have little or nothing to do with labor history.
This book attempts to cram ten pounds of material into a two pound bag. The authors seem intent on citing every labor conflict of the last 150 years, all crammed into a modestly sized book of only 332 pages. As a result, proper exposition is lacking and nothing receives adequate treatment. Facts (and factoids) and union acronyms are larded into the pages in a very dry data dump that often left me puzzled or uninterested. I found myself asking, “And then what happened?” or “Why is that important?” and “Who the Hell cares?”
The labor movement deserves better.
Alarm bells sounded as early as page 2, when the authors write of pre-Columbian interaction between the New World and Old. Supposed Roman coins found in the Americas and Mayan sculptures that had “African features”? Native American spear points in Ireland and Scotland? This is pseudoscience.
The day I wrote the above paragraph I had lunch with University of Kansas bio-anthropologist and author Jennifer Raff. Jenny, a science communicator and science literacy advocate, confirmed that the supposed evidence for the above claims is bogus.
In the introduction on page xii the authors state that “Almost none of the material comes from our own research”. They use no footnotes, cite no sources, and openly state that the recommended reading list at the end of the book isn’t a list of sources. Read that again. There are no sources to which the reader can refer. Taken along with the ridiculous claims of Old World interactions with the Americas mentioned above, as well as the issues mentioned below, where is the foundation of academic credibility for this work? There is none.
Observe an irony: Robber Baron Jay Gould (1836-1892) wrote a nearly five hundred page history of early Delaware County, New York that used primary sources and interviews with descendants of witnesses. The book is cited by historians to this day. While Gould is worthy of scrutiny and harsh criticism for his predatory capitalism, Murolo attributes a quote to Gould he likely never said, specifically, “I can hire one-half of the working class to kill the other half.” The quote originally cited farmers, not the working class, and was first attributed to Gould by one of his political enemies.
Insofar as accuracy, is it too much too much to expect that UFW member Nagi Daifallah’s murder (page 260) be reported accurately? The authors claim he was shot by police. It was far worse than that. He was brutally beaten to death by a police officer armed with a flashlight.
On page 86 they write this about the South’s cassus belli leading to the Civil War, “Moreover, neither side at first identified the war as a conflict over slavery. The Confederacy claimed to fight for states’ rights to independence….”
This is absolute nonsense, and parrots the highly racist “Lost Cause” rationalizations of post-war southern apologists who claim the South’s secession wasn’t about slavery. The articles of secession specifically state secession was about slavery. Vice President Alexander Stephens’ “Cornerstone Speech” clearly says the war was about slavery. Virtually everything written on this issue before the end of the war by southern politicians, diarists, soldiers, journalists, theologians and academics cite slavery (and its maintenance) as the reason for their belligerence and secession.
The authors mention nothing of the fact that one fourth of southern population held slaves and property worth HALF the total wealth of the United States before secession. In a work on American labor, how does one miss that? There is no mention of northern labor unrest during the war. There is not a peep about the tragic New York Draft riots, which were born of resentment by unskilled Irish immigrants against competition by free blacks.
This work has no mention of pre-Civil War racist laws in Illinois and Indiana prohibiting the entry of free blacks or their hire by prospective white employers. That’s a labor issue.
And while lacking all that, the authors continually drift into lengthy historical narratives that have little or nothing to do with labor history.
This book attempts to cram ten pounds of material into a two pound bag. The authors seem intent on citing every labor conflict of the last 150 years, all crammed into a modestly sized book of only 332 pages. As a result, proper exposition is lacking and nothing receives adequate treatment. Facts (and factoids) and union acronyms are larded into the pages in a very dry data dump that often left me puzzled or uninterested. I found myself asking, “And then what happened?” or “Why is that important?” and “Who the Hell cares?”
The labor movement deserves better.
November 30, 2024
Not short and sparsely illustrated, but very good
February 24, 2020
A. B. Chitty and Priscilla Murolo have done an excellent job here distilling a long and winding history into a useful crash course on Labor within the United States. Especially in contrast to Erik Loomis's book A History of America in Ten Strikes, Murolo / Chitty go into much needed, although often eye glazing, detail about each era. In regard to this, I found the first half of the book to be the most gripping. I am not sure if that comes from my complete knowledge gap on Labor prior to the Civil War or just the nature of reading a longer historical text that my attention became harder to maintain by the third quarter. Pushing through was worth it however, the final two chapters on labor within the Trump years was incredibly enlightening and well written.
I found this book very insightful, and now that I have it annotated I will be utilizing as a resource for my continued study of Labor. I would only recommend this book to those who have an interest in getting a more detailed picture in US labor history, someone new to the genre and turned off by what has been said so far may find Loomis's book a better starting point.
I found this book very insightful, and now that I have it annotated I will be utilizing as a resource for my continued study of Labor. I would only recommend this book to those who have an interest in getting a more detailed picture in US labor history, someone new to the genre and turned off by what has been said so far may find Loomis's book a better starting point.
August 25, 2017
It's all here: 1492 to 2000 in 330 pages. Reads like a summary, or like a textbook.
A more narrative, more focused, to me more readable and excellent book is There Is Power in a Union: The Epic Story of Labor in America by Philip Dray.
A more narrative, more focused, to me more readable and excellent book is There Is Power in a Union: The Epic Story of Labor in America by Philip Dray.
August 4, 2022
Very informative, learned a lot of things I knew nothing about.
September 15, 2008
This is pretty boring. Just read the Sacco cartoons, know that runaway wives were treated like runaway slaves, and know that the phrase "United We Stand, Divided We Fall" has very, very practical applications. Seriously, labor movements divided by racism and such failed.
Save yourself some time and read Howard Zinn.
Save yourself some time and read Howard Zinn.
March 25, 2009
Excellent read for all, especially those who are anti-union and clueless about labor history and the struggles to get to where we are today.
Read
August 17, 2022Most general American history texts give short shrift to the rise of organized labor. And when they do so, they tend to cite little more than a handful of large-scale clashes between labor and management in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Familiar examples include the Haymarket affair (1886), the Homestead Steel Strike (1892), the Pullman Strike (1894), and the Ludlow Massacre (1914). A handful of other conflicts appear from time to time. But a more accurate and comprehensive approach begins in the colonial era. It encompasses the early years of the Industrial Revolution. The removal and extermination of Native Americans. The epochal struggle against slavery. And, only later, the emergence of Big Labor in the Depression and its decline beginning in the 1970s. Priscilla Murolo and A. B. Chitty include all that in their revisionist history of labor in America, From the Folks Who Brought You the Weekend.
A BROAD VIEW OF PEOPLE AT WORK
Murolo and Chitty construe the term labor to encompass work of all sorts, not just what happens in factories and offices. Slavery, both in homes and shops as well as fields. Native American hunting, fishing, and farming. Sharecropping under debt peonage. Women employed at piece-work in their homes or for their families. It’s a refreshing approach. And in telling this tale, the authors effectively convey a history of the United States consistent with Howard Zinn’s iconic A People’s History of the United States.
THIS IS NOT A BOOK ABOUT THE “LABOR MOVEMENT”
In a foreword to the book’s first edition, the authors attempt to define their mission. “There are some interesting books we did not write,” they assert. “We did not write a comprehensive account of trade unions, their internal affairs, or their complicated relationships with one another in and out of federations. We did not write a history of work, nor a history of labor and capital. We did not write a history of labor politics.” Later, they add, “We write for the people who work too hard for too little, whose families and communities are hostage to the greed and arrogance of the same privilege that deforms our humanity and threatens our common welfare.” Thus, Murolo and Chitty make their perspective clear. But they fail to define clearly the boundaries of the tale they set out to tell.
A JOURNALIST MIGHT HAVE TOLD THIS STORY MORE READABLY
Often, when I read a book by an historian, I find myself wishing that a journalist had written it instead. Many historians cram their accounts of the past with a seemingly interminable recitation of facts. That’s certainly the case with From the Folks Who Brought You the Weekend. A journalist might instead cover the same ground by highlighting the experience of one or a handful of players in the drama—and drama results. By contrast, there may be no drama evident in the historian’s account. Unfortunately, Murolo and Chitty make that mistake. They’ve obviously done a stellar job of research, digging up one example after another for every point they make. But the story suffers as a result. It makes for slow reading.
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
PRISCILLA MUROLO
Priscilla Murolo retied in 2022 after 34 years on the faculty of Sarah Lawrence College specializing in labor history and women’s studies. She directed the college’s Graduate Program in Women’s History for 19 years. Murolo received her BA from Sarah Lawrence and an MA and PhD from Yale University. She is also the author of The Common Ground of Womanhood: Class, Gender, and Working Girls’ Clubs. She is married to her coauthor and has two sons, both of them graduates of Sarah Lawrence.
A. B. CHITTY
Arthur B. Chitty is currently Assistant to the Chief Librarian for Special Projects in the Queens College Libraries of the City University of New York, where he has been employed since 1984. He is active in the teachers union and has been engaged in the antiwar veterans movement since he was discharged from the Navy in 1969, first in Vietnam Veterans Against the War and now in Veterans For Peace, and in the broader movement for peace and social justice. Chitty holds a B.A. in Mediaeval Studies & English Literature (Swarthmore College), a B.A. and M.A. in English Language (Oxford University), and a Master’s degree in Library Science. (University of North Carolina). He is married to Priscilla Murolo and has two stepsons and two grandchildren.
A BROAD VIEW OF PEOPLE AT WORK
Murolo and Chitty construe the term labor to encompass work of all sorts, not just what happens in factories and offices. Slavery, both in homes and shops as well as fields. Native American hunting, fishing, and farming. Sharecropping under debt peonage. Women employed at piece-work in their homes or for their families. It’s a refreshing approach. And in telling this tale, the authors effectively convey a history of the United States consistent with Howard Zinn’s iconic A People’s History of the United States.
THIS IS NOT A BOOK ABOUT THE “LABOR MOVEMENT”
In a foreword to the book’s first edition, the authors attempt to define their mission. “There are some interesting books we did not write,” they assert. “We did not write a comprehensive account of trade unions, their internal affairs, or their complicated relationships with one another in and out of federations. We did not write a history of work, nor a history of labor and capital. We did not write a history of labor politics.” Later, they add, “We write for the people who work too hard for too little, whose families and communities are hostage to the greed and arrogance of the same privilege that deforms our humanity and threatens our common welfare.” Thus, Murolo and Chitty make their perspective clear. But they fail to define clearly the boundaries of the tale they set out to tell.
A JOURNALIST MIGHT HAVE TOLD THIS STORY MORE READABLY
Often, when I read a book by an historian, I find myself wishing that a journalist had written it instead. Many historians cram their accounts of the past with a seemingly interminable recitation of facts. That’s certainly the case with From the Folks Who Brought You the Weekend. A journalist might instead cover the same ground by highlighting the experience of one or a handful of players in the drama—and drama results. By contrast, there may be no drama evident in the historian’s account. Unfortunately, Murolo and Chitty make that mistake. They’ve obviously done a stellar job of research, digging up one example after another for every point they make. But the story suffers as a result. It makes for slow reading.
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
PRISCILLA MUROLO
Priscilla Murolo retied in 2022 after 34 years on the faculty of Sarah Lawrence College specializing in labor history and women’s studies. She directed the college’s Graduate Program in Women’s History for 19 years. Murolo received her BA from Sarah Lawrence and an MA and PhD from Yale University. She is also the author of The Common Ground of Womanhood: Class, Gender, and Working Girls’ Clubs. She is married to her coauthor and has two sons, both of them graduates of Sarah Lawrence.
A. B. CHITTY
Arthur B. Chitty is currently Assistant to the Chief Librarian for Special Projects in the Queens College Libraries of the City University of New York, where he has been employed since 1984. He is active in the teachers union and has been engaged in the antiwar veterans movement since he was discharged from the Navy in 1969, first in Vietnam Veterans Against the War and now in Veterans For Peace, and in the broader movement for peace and social justice. Chitty holds a B.A. in Mediaeval Studies & English Literature (Swarthmore College), a B.A. and M.A. in English Language (Oxford University), and a Master’s degree in Library Science. (University of North Carolina). He is married to Priscilla Murolo and has two stepsons and two grandchildren.
November 11, 2020
Not as good as Steven Greenhouse’s book on labor – and I had thought that book was disappointing. No longer. Yet, glad I read it.
These authors started the history of the American labor movement in the 1400’s, sharing about slavery and indentured servants. They point out that between 1607 and 1776, only 20% of the indentured servants actually went on to self-employment. Many died, of course, but others had catches in their agreements. For example, if a couple came over and agreed to six years of service and their spouse died, the surviving spouse had to serve 12 years! They also spoke about being sold into labor on farms where they were “beaten like cattle.” And spoke about some who took advantage of them and charged them additional time for the food they ate on the trip. Sounds like their own version of pay day lenders – 1400 or 1500 style!
Much of it was a weak Untold Story, again from a progressive view. Much about the Chinese Exclusion Act and how labor struggled with the racism that still exists in our society – African American but also Asian and Native American. More about women, too. Interesting stories and observations.
Unfortunately I’ve read so much about American history and labor history, I was looking more for the nitch stories about race and about inter-union fights. This book reviewed the IUE/UE story better, sharing that the UE had agreed to kicking out communists even before the AFL-CIO chartered the IUE and truly raided them. Amazing.
The 1920’s were interesting to read about because, like today, the Guided Age certainly allowed the rich to get richer and workers to barely receive anything yet the labor movement was suffering so badly. And when the depression hit, African Americans were hurt so much more than anyone else; in 1931, African Americans made up 33% of the unemployed but only made up 17% of the national population.
The coverage of sexism really showed a major reason why the labor movement was held back. It was not until 1980 did a woman join the national AFL-CIO executive council – Joyce Miller, a vp of the Amalgamated joined. 1980. I know I knew that but somehow didn’t hold onto that sad thought.
The final chapters were interesting yet probably the least informative. It covered much of my history. The founding of 925 in 1977 (year I graduated from high school) in Cleveland and other cities, the Coalition of Peace who formed in 1970s in Cleveland (I was 10), the 1972 strike against Lordstown shutting down the entire auto supply line for GM, Kent State, Nixon’s election (and the fact that the AFL-CIO did not make an endorsement – much like the AFL did not endorse Roosevelt the first time over Hover!), Winpisinger, PATCO and replacement strikers, deregulation and Eastern Airlines, ADA, Jackson’s Rainbow Coalition, Greyhound, Ohio collective bargaining fight, Blue Cross-Blue Shield organizing, Hormel, Pittston Coal strike, formation of the Alliance of Asian Pacific Labor in 1987, Sweeney’s election (with some good background in the book) to the AFL-CIO, Bill Clinton and NAFTA, CWA organizing US Airways, Justice for Janitors, CWA strike, Jobs with Justice, Immigrant Workers Freedom Ride, Union Summer program, UAW Dayton brake plant strike, UPS – and Carey at the IBT, Battle in Seatle, United Farm Workers struggles, Delphi, Andy Stern, Change to Win, GE’s Jack Welch, UAW-CAW split, Cadillac Tax and Obama Care, ALEC, card check – and more card check, more FLOC, Black Lives Matter CWA militant unionism, Sanders, Trump.
Wow…lots of labor history of my own. I could write a book.
These authors started the history of the American labor movement in the 1400’s, sharing about slavery and indentured servants. They point out that between 1607 and 1776, only 20% of the indentured servants actually went on to self-employment. Many died, of course, but others had catches in their agreements. For example, if a couple came over and agreed to six years of service and their spouse died, the surviving spouse had to serve 12 years! They also spoke about being sold into labor on farms where they were “beaten like cattle.” And spoke about some who took advantage of them and charged them additional time for the food they ate on the trip. Sounds like their own version of pay day lenders – 1400 or 1500 style!
Much of it was a weak Untold Story, again from a progressive view. Much about the Chinese Exclusion Act and how labor struggled with the racism that still exists in our society – African American but also Asian and Native American. More about women, too. Interesting stories and observations.
Unfortunately I’ve read so much about American history and labor history, I was looking more for the nitch stories about race and about inter-union fights. This book reviewed the IUE/UE story better, sharing that the UE had agreed to kicking out communists even before the AFL-CIO chartered the IUE and truly raided them. Amazing.
The 1920’s were interesting to read about because, like today, the Guided Age certainly allowed the rich to get richer and workers to barely receive anything yet the labor movement was suffering so badly. And when the depression hit, African Americans were hurt so much more than anyone else; in 1931, African Americans made up 33% of the unemployed but only made up 17% of the national population.
The coverage of sexism really showed a major reason why the labor movement was held back. It was not until 1980 did a woman join the national AFL-CIO executive council – Joyce Miller, a vp of the Amalgamated joined. 1980. I know I knew that but somehow didn’t hold onto that sad thought.
The final chapters were interesting yet probably the least informative. It covered much of my history. The founding of 925 in 1977 (year I graduated from high school) in Cleveland and other cities, the Coalition of Peace who formed in 1970s in Cleveland (I was 10), the 1972 strike against Lordstown shutting down the entire auto supply line for GM, Kent State, Nixon’s election (and the fact that the AFL-CIO did not make an endorsement – much like the AFL did not endorse Roosevelt the first time over Hover!), Winpisinger, PATCO and replacement strikers, deregulation and Eastern Airlines, ADA, Jackson’s Rainbow Coalition, Greyhound, Ohio collective bargaining fight, Blue Cross-Blue Shield organizing, Hormel, Pittston Coal strike, formation of the Alliance of Asian Pacific Labor in 1987, Sweeney’s election (with some good background in the book) to the AFL-CIO, Bill Clinton and NAFTA, CWA organizing US Airways, Justice for Janitors, CWA strike, Jobs with Justice, Immigrant Workers Freedom Ride, Union Summer program, UAW Dayton brake plant strike, UPS – and Carey at the IBT, Battle in Seatle, United Farm Workers struggles, Delphi, Andy Stern, Change to Win, GE’s Jack Welch, UAW-CAW split, Cadillac Tax and Obama Care, ALEC, card check – and more card check, more FLOC, Black Lives Matter CWA militant unionism, Sanders, Trump.
Wow…lots of labor history of my own. I could write a book.
December 18, 2023
really comprehensive I learned a lot. though sometimes it feels like a list of strikes that occurred and unions that have existed in the US it is an incredible reference and gives you a sense of how vast the history of labor is in this country. Also the epilogue of the 2018 version hits really hard talking about how 8 people own the same amount of wealth as 50% of the worlds population + the out of the top 100 economies in the world only 31 are countries the rest are corporations (boo).
“Our political system is a cesspool of corruption the Trump administration may have carried self dealing to new heights, but neoliberalism had already encouraged kleptocracy ruled by thieves. By insisting that when an opportunity for private profit is identified it must be exploited. The claim that the free market provides the best approach to any worthwhile project fails the reality test, yet most politicians treat it as gospel. While hunger and homelessness remain a part of the american landscape, our government finds the money to station troops on every continent and maintain a gigantic arsenal of nuclear and conventional weapons that can surely not do the world any good. Certainly that money could be better spent on better things… to update water systems the electrical power grid airports and seaports would cost at least 225billion.” Love how the ending really doesn’t pull punches.
“Our political system is a cesspool of corruption the Trump administration may have carried self dealing to new heights, but neoliberalism had already encouraged kleptocracy ruled by thieves. By insisting that when an opportunity for private profit is identified it must be exploited. The claim that the free market provides the best approach to any worthwhile project fails the reality test, yet most politicians treat it as gospel. While hunger and homelessness remain a part of the american landscape, our government finds the money to station troops on every continent and maintain a gigantic arsenal of nuclear and conventional weapons that can surely not do the world any good. Certainly that money could be better spent on better things… to update water systems the electrical power grid airports and seaports would cost at least 225billion.” Love how the ending really doesn’t pull punches.
December 8, 2020
I read this one for one of my history classes. I found it fascinating and really informative for workers' rights and just rights in general of American people. Unions and labor organizations have helped make so many things happened from health care, social security, housing, etc for people and I loved learning all the different ways they did that and made it possible for those rights to become law and mandatory.
In the past few years, we've been seeing some of those rights challenged so it's important to know how those rights started and how the fight to keep them has continued on through the years.
In the past few years, we've been seeing some of those rights challenged so it's important to know how those rights started and how the fight to keep them has continued on through the years.
September 3, 2025
Densely packed with information on an interesting subject, but I found this one quite tough to get through.
I enjoyed the comic strip renderings of some of the historical events, but otherwise this book read like a textbook. I thought it did a poor job adding color to a potentially moving historical retelling and didn’t keep me engaged or wanting to keep reading.
I was unmotivated to read this one to the point that I actually had to return it to the library before I even finished it. Unless the last 100 pages or so are astounding I wouldn’t recommend.
I enjoyed the comic strip renderings of some of the historical events, but otherwise this book read like a textbook. I thought it did a poor job adding color to a potentially moving historical retelling and didn’t keep me engaged or wanting to keep reading.
I was unmotivated to read this one to the point that I actually had to return it to the library before I even finished it. Unless the last 100 pages or so are astounding I wouldn’t recommend.
June 13, 2019
Great overview of labor history and a good jumping off point before diving deeper into particular areas of the labor movement. My biggest concern is the lack of footnotes and citations -- I would have loved to have a direct reference to the source materials for further reading. However, I will be taking advantage of the selected bibliography provided.
December 8, 2020
This is a thorough and highly detailed account of the labor movement of the United States. While there can be a tendency to represent the U.S. labor movement as beginning in the 1800s, this book digs into colonization and the enslavement and genocides of Indigenous people and Africans in the U.S., and presents them as key sources to understanding U.S. wealth and work. This is a resource for looking at U.S. history through a labor lens, where one can see the patterns of social movements in the United States and the incredible impact working class people have made, as well as the continual struggle faced. I will revisit this book again and again.
November 15, 2021
Expected more
This is old fashioned labor history. A litany of strikes, membership drives, victories and defeats, in chronological order no less. You truly do need a scorecard to follow all the different players and the acronyms. I did learn a few things but I wanted more people and less organizational discussions. Peace.
This is old fashioned labor history. A litany of strikes, membership drives, victories and defeats, in chronological order no less. You truly do need a scorecard to follow all the different players and the acronyms. I did learn a few things but I wanted more people and less organizational discussions. Peace.
April 16, 2025
There were a few interesting moments until the overly-long book got bogged down in unions, oh so many unions, and union riots. And then the authors swung into so many chunks of history that it made one’s head swim. If a reader wants to have sand blown into his or her eye, listen to the 23-hour audio book as I did. I couldn’t wait for it to be over. Thank goodness for a long road trip.
March 26, 2020
an accessible and thorough history of the united states, if you wanna read about labor in any era this book has a chapter for it (up to 2017). i especially recommend the chapters that cover the colonial carribean & american chattel slavery.
December 4, 2017
An important look into American labor, many today do not realize how hard people had to fight to get the standards we have now have, a must read for anyone entering the workforce.
January 5, 2020
Great overview, with a strong focus on the underappreciated connections to racial justice, feminist, and LGBT movements.
April 3, 2020
I had to read this book for class, and found myself enjoying it. Loved all the small facts given.
June 23, 2023
This is a HARD book to read through, not going to lie. It reads like a text book. But I’m glad I read it. I had to keep pushing myself to get through it lol.
March 20, 2017
Pretty excellent history of labor, very detailed. The obvious comparison would be Howard Zinn's A People's History of the United States.
April 3, 2014
This book fills a gap by providing a decent account of labor history aimed at a general audience. It is generally well done, and I love the bottom up approach that looks well beyond unionism in its consideration of "labor". My biggest gripe with the book is the lack of citations. Would it really hurt a book aimed at a popular audience to include them? This would have had 4 stars if it was a bit more rigorous.
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February 8, 2009good history lesson, but hard to follow so many names and facts, personally... almost seemed like a radical update from the mundane highschool jargon(sp). i found it a bit lacking on west virginia coal mine wars in the early 1900's, but alot of objective facts not otherwise found made it a good read.
August 7, 2007
It was fairly even handed, but it got less so as it got closer to the present day, ie it was pointedly anti-NAFTA. Though I suppose it's not all that hard to be anti slavery, what with the fact that the entire world has decided that that was wrong.
January 9, 2009
This is a great introduction to the history of the US labor movement. It's very short and sometimes reads a bit like a list of names and dates, but nonetheless, this is a great first source for anyone who is interested in reading more about US Labor, its history, and its internal politics.
March 4, 2012
Not all that short or illustrated, but may be a decent overview. My biggest complaint? No footnotes or cites means no easy way to check the source material or even get a clear sense of where different arguments are coming from.
October 18, 2012
Most of the book I have read focus on stories of strikes and other events. This book focus more on an overview of the general flow of events. For my research this was an interesting perspective, but the reading was a bit dry.
April 5, 2013
... A look at labor from colonial times to today. A few do not have the right to make billions off of the suffering of millions. And can the US ever be truly free while we continue to struggle with class inequality?
March 15, 2016
Outstanding history of labor in this country, up to about 2000. The range of this history is broad, including bonded servants, Native Americans, slaves, and undocumented workers along with native-born laborers. Joe Sacco's illustrations add flavor to an informative text.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews