Solidarity Forever: An Oral History of the Iww [Paperback]

Stewart Bird (Author), Dan Georgakas (Author), Deborah Shaffer (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 1985 | ISBN-10: 094170212X | ISBN-13: 978-0941702126 | Edition: 2

This oral history is based on interviews done for the award-winning documentary The Wobblies. Studs Terkel said of this book, 'This study of the Wobblies is a vital part of our history that has never appeared in the traditional chronicles. It's time, high-time, we knew of this indigenous American movement. An excellent book.'

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

Millions of Americans enjoy liberties off and on the job that were pioneered by a working class organization that few of them are familiar with-the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW).

The standard of living for most working Americans was grim when the IWW was founded in 1905. Wages were low, housing squalid, civil liberties limited, safety regulations nonexistent, and job security tenuous. Employers routinely denied their workers the right to unionize, much less to strike or picket. Few major labor disputes ended without death playing a hand.

In Solidarity Forever, a score of IWWs tell how they fought against these injustices while advocating a new economic system in which production would be geared for the public good rather than for private profit.

They speak at length of the life and culture of a modern working class during its formative years, often touching on historic labor struggles as well as more humble local conflicts. Told with vigor and humor, these first-hand accounts attest to the IWW passion for mass education, popular culture, and grass roots democracy, and they reveal an IWW far more ideologically sophisticated than is generally acknowledged.

Historical essays preface these personal stories and place them in the context of the IWW commitment to civil liberties, women's rights, organizing the unorganized, and racial equality.

Although they failed to achieve their long-term goals, the IWWs are seen to have won many a local battle for short-term gains, to have paved the way for the eventual triumph of the CIO, and to have set a high standard for subsequent movements for social change. More than 50 period photos and graphics, the result of years of archival research, provide vivid illustration of the IWW style, IWW philosophy, and the physical settings within which the IWW worked.

Now, at a time when the standard of living for working Americans is in decline, Solidarity Forever affirms that the militant spirit and aggressively democratic perspective of the IWW remain pertinent to present and future struggles for social justice. The IWWs dared to err on the side of personal liberty, and their testimonies reveal how such daring and devotion to principle inspired ordinary Americans to extraordinary deeds.

From the Back Cover

"This study of the Wobblies is a vital part of our history that has never appeared in the traditional chronicles. It's time-high time-we knew of this indigenous American movement. An excellent book. -Studs Terkel

"Solidarity Forever: An Oral History of the IWW is a great book. I wish it were used in American history courses in every high school and college in the USA. The average American doesn't know much about his or her own history. They figure that history is a record of missed opportunities and let it go at that. But the story of the Wobblies has a lot to teach us and inspire us as well. I find the book inspiring."-Pete Seeger

"In telling the story of one of America's earliest and most inspiring protest movements, Solidarity Forever rings with the simple eloquence of working men and women who faced insurmountable economic and political odds with little more than courage in their hearts and a song on their lips. Their story gives new hope to a labor movement struggling against challenges that sometimes appear equally insurmountable today."-William W. Winpisinger, former president, International Association of Machinists

"Astute scholarship undergirds a graceful and exciting presentation... It's great to have a new work to keep up the interest in the IWW so that still another generation of readers can be inspired and hopefully moved to action."-Joyce Kornbluh, Author, Rebel Voices-An IWW Anthology

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Product Details

• Paperback: 247 pages
• Publisher: Lake View Press; 2 edition (September 1, 1985)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 094170212X
• ISBN-13: 978-0941702126
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.2 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.5 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,134,908 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The most valuable labor history resource out there, June 11, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Solidarity Forever: An Oral History of the Iww (Paperback)

This book gives the most complete and colorful history of the IWW that I have ever seen. The combination of personal histories with scholarly writings on the IWW through time makes a truly rich history. I would strongly recommend it for anyone with even a passing interest in the subject.