New Leaf Nominations for September 2019 • Labour of Love: Working Class

[Catlady]

I plan to make another nomination, but right now I'm trying to choose among several books.

I wanted to nominate Never Done: A History of American Housework by Susan Strasser, but it's not available everywhere.

Spoiler:

Never Done is the first history of American housework. Beginning with a description of household chores of the nineteenth century--cooking at fireplaces and on cast-iron stoves, laundry done with wash boilers and flatirons, endless water hauling and fire tending--Susan Strasser demonstrates how industrialization transformed the nature of women's work. Lightening some tasks and eliminating the need for others, new commercial processes inexorably altered women's daily lives and relationships--with each other and with the people they served.

In this lively and authoritative book, Strasser weaves together the history of material advances and discussions of domestic service, "women's separate sphere" and the impact of advertising, home economics and women's entry into the workforce.

Hailed as pathbreaking when originally published, Never Done remains an eye-opening examination of daily life in the American past.

Books I'm considering that are available in all relevant countries are

In Dubious Battle by John Steinbeck

Spoiler:

At once a relentlessly fast-paced, admirably observed novel of social unrest and the story of a young man's struggle for identity, In Dubious Battle is set in the California apple country, where a strike by migrant workers against rapacious landowners spirals out of control, as a principled defiance metamorphoses into blind fanaticism. Caught in the upheaval is Jim Nolan, a once aimless man who find himself in the course of the strike, briefly becomes its leader, and is ultimately crushed in its service.

The Triangle Fire by Leon Stein

Spoiler:

On March 25, 1911, 146 employees of the Triangle Shirtwaist Company in New York City were killed in the span of a few minutes because no provision had been made for their safety in the event of fire. The Cornell edition of Leon Stein's 1962 account features 16 illustrations, some never before published. A new introduction by the journalist William Greider makes clear that accounts of dangerous workplaces and sweatshop conditions are still all-too-relevant today, ninety years after the fire. The story of the catastrophe and the doomed Triangle Shirtwaist workers, as told by one of the great labor journalists, will not soon be forgotten.

Strike! by Jeremy Bercher (this one is in KU right now)

Spoiler:

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.

[Bookworm_Girl]

I nominate Shirley by Charlotte Brontë. It is about a village in the Napoleonic era which has been introduced to machinery and chronicles its effects on the social order.

From Goodreads:

Following the tremendous popular success of Jane Eyre, which earned her lifelong notoriety as a moral revolutionary, Charlotte Brontë vowed to write a sweeping social chronicle that focused on "something real and unromantic as Monday morning." Set in the industrializing England of the Napoleonic wars and Luddite revolts of 1811-12, Shirley (1849) is the story of two contrasting heroines. One is the shy Caroline Helstone, who is trapped in the oppressive atmosphere of a Yorkshire rectory and whose bare life symbolizes the plight of single women in the nineteenth century. The other is the vivacious Shirley Keeldar, who inherits a local estate and whose wealth liberates her from convention.

[CRussel]

Originally Posted by Catlady

I plan to make another nomination, but right now I'm trying to choose among several books.

I wanted to nominate Never Done: A History of American Housework by Susan Strasser, but it's not available everywhere.

Books I'm considering that are available in all relevant countries are

In Dubious Battle by John Steinbeck

The Triangle Fire by Leon Stein

Strike! by Jeremy Bercher (this one is in KU right now)

Wow, all excellent choices. I'd probably prefer other than the Steinbeck, since I've read a couple of his recently, but all are interesting and thoughtful choices. But either of the other two would be good. One goes into some depth on a single event, while the other has a broader focus on multiple events supporting an overall view. I'd support either.

[CRussel]

OK, from Canadian labour history, a fictional book set in the middle of the Winnipeg General Strike. Not quite what I was imagining when I first thought of this theme, but it still sounds quite interesting and well within the theme. Oh, and it's inexpensive and widely available on Amazon. So:

The Silent March by C.M. Klyne.

Originally Posted by Goodreads.com

Winnipeg, 1919. The Winnipeg General Strike, the Spanish influenza and a sociopathic personality coalesce to forge a summer of strife, death and hope for a community still suffering the pestilence of the first world war.
Can bacteriologist Dr. Anna Williams, driven by the need to prove herself in a predominantly male research lab and responding to a panicky public health department, overcome the resistant attitudes of her male colleagues, to unlock the mysteries surrounding the deadly influenza virus?
Will the infamous Committee of One Thousand subvert the intentions of the strike leaders and the growing union movement and prevent the spread of Bolshevism upon Canadian soil?
Will Earle Nelson, a murderous sociopath and righteous zealot, force his will upon those he perceives as undesirable and unacceptable?
Follow Klyne’s story as he leads you through the streets of Winnipeg – reliving historical events with brilliant character creations whose intricate paths of emotions, ideas and conflicts culminated in what became known as Bloody Saturday.

AmazonUS: $5.04 USD
AmazonCA: $4.99 CAD
AmazonAU: $6.66 AUD
AmazonUK: £3.59 GBP


No Overdrive and no Audible.
416 Pages.

Goodreads

[issybird]

I'm going to second Shirley.

[issybird]

I'm going to sit on my other nominations for a bit, but I have to say that Lawrence, Mass, is near me and I'm always a sucker for local history. On the other hand, Forty Fathoms Deep appeals as someplace that's different.

[Bookpossum]

Broome is a beautiful place with a fascinating history. Actually I think it’s Forty Fathoms Deep - gmw just hit the h instead of the y.

I’m sitting on my third vote for now, but there are some interesting books to consider.

[issybird]

Originally Posted by Bookpossum

Broome is a beautiful place with a fascinating history. Actually I think it’s Forty Fathoms Deep - gmw just hit the h instead of the y.

Ah, thanks; that makes sense. I've corrected the nominations list and my own post.

[gmw]

Originally Posted by Bookpossum

Broome is a beautiful place with a fascinating history. Actually I think it’s Forty Fathoms Deep - gmw just hit the h instead of the y.

I’m sitting on my third vote for now, but there are some interesting books to consider.

Thanks for that, you are quite correct of course. I got it right at the bottom just not at the top where it counted. Trying to do too many things at once ... but I'm hoping the decks might be a bit clearer come mid-September (at least I really really hope so).

[gmw]

I will second A Month in the Country by J L Carr.

and I will third Shirley by Charlotte Brontë.

[Bookpossum]

You are welcome gmw, and good luck with the deck-clearing!

[Bookworm_Girl]

I will second Forty Fathoms Deep.

[Victoria]

Originally Posted by Bookpossum

Thanks for your kind messages, issybird, CRussel and Dazrin. All is going well and with the help of a pair of cheap glasses from the chemist, I can read again!

I love the sound of The Shepherd's Life and second it.

That’s great news Bookpossum! I hope your results will be a total success.

I’m enamoured by the description of A Month in the Country, and third it. (Also A Shepherd’s Life)

[Victoria]

For my nomination I’ve focused on ‘labour of love’, aspect, and chosen My Life In France, by Julia Childs. She wasn’t from the working classes, but she certainly faced struggles as a female at the Cordon Bleu.

The bestselling story of Julia’s years in France. ..... Julia Child was not always a master chef. Indeed, when she first arrived in France in 1948 with her husband, Paul, who was to work for the USIS, she spoke no French and knew nothing about the country itself. But as she dove into French culture, buying food at local markets and taking classes at the Cordon Bleu, her life changed forever with her newfound passion for cooking and teaching. Julia’s unforgettable story—struggles with the head of the Cordon Bleu, rejections from publishers to whom she sent her now-famous cookbook, a wonderful, nearly fifty-year long marriage that took the Childs across the globe—unfolds with the spirit so key to Julia’s success as a chef and a writer

The book is available on overdrive at my library, so I hope in other countries as well.

In terms of Kobo, the sites recognize me as Canadian and sometimes adjust the prices accordingly. But from what I could see, it appears to be:
$14 USA
$14 CA
$10 AUD

[Bookpossum]

Originally Posted by Victoria

That’s great news Bookpossum! I hope your results will be a total success.

Thanks very much Victoria. I'm delighted with my "new" eyes!