Strike!

Overview

An updated edition of a classic account of U.S. labor revolts

Since its original publication in 1972, no book has done as much as Jeremy Brecher's Strike! to bring American labor history to a wide audience. Strike! narrates the dramatic story of repeated, massive, and sometimes violent revolts by ordinary working people in America and tells this exciting hidden history from the point of view of the rank-and-file workers who lived it. In this expanded edition, Brecher brings the story up to date with revised chapters that cover the 40 years since the original edition, placing the problems faced by working people today in the context of 140 years of labor history. A new chapter, "Beyond One-Sided Class War" presents the American minirevolts of the 21st century from the Battle of Seattle to Occupy Wall Street and beyond. Essential reading for anyone interested in the historical or present-day situation of American workers, this updated classic serves as inspiration for organizers, activists, and educators working to revive the labor movement today.

Reviews

“An exciting history of American labor. Brings to life the flashpoints of labor history. Scholarly, genuinely stirring.”  —New York Times

“Splendid . . . clearly the best single-volume summary yet published of American general strikes.”  —Washington Post

“One of the most important books on labor history published since World War II.”  —Howard Zinn, author, A People’s History of the United States

“A magnificent book. I hope it will take its place as the standard history of American labor.”  —Staughton Lynd, influential activist and lawyer

“Brecher’s stories are interesting and exciting, his prose colorful, his quotes well chosen.”  —Texas Observer

"Brecher dives inside the everyday struggles of rank-and-file workers and provides a thoroughly researched, alternative history rarely mentioned in textbooks or popular media." —Booklist

"Brecher details 'the times of peak conflict' largely written out of the US history. His narrative is exciting and accessible." —Mark Bergfeld, Marx & Philosophy Review of Books

Author Biography

Jeremy Brecher is the author of more than a dozen books on labor and social movements, including Brass Valley, Building Bridges, Global Village or Global Pillage, Globalization from Below, and History from Below. He is the former humanities scholar-in-residence at Connecticut Public Television and Radio and received five regional Emmy Awards for his documentary film work. He helped found and currently works with the Labor Network for Sustainability. He lives in West Cornwall, Connecticut.