Help me find some books on the history of radical politics in the NW!

July 6, 2009 6:22 AM

Help me find some good books on this history of radical labor movements in the US (specifically dealing with the NW if possible)!

I'm a native of Seattle/Tacoma and spent 4 years in Portland. I've always been interested in the history of the pacific northwest, and now I'd like to go a little more in depth and study the history of radical politics in the area. The IWW had a strong presence, there was the Seattle General Strike, the Everett Massacre, the Centralia Massacre, Jack Reed got his start in Portland, etc. Are there any (accessible, this is leisure reading not academic) good histories on this topic out there? It seems like such fertile ground, but I can't seem to find any books that deal with the NW specifically.

Barring that, I'd also be open to any suggestions on books dealing with radical labor in the US in general (already read A Peoples history, though!)

Thanks!

posted by MostHolyPorcine to society & culture (14 comments total)

Here's a good bibliography: http://www.uwm.edu/Course/448-831/831bib.html
posted by mareli at 6:35 AM on July 6

The Portland Red Guide
posted by ryanshepard at 6:40 AM on July 6

Also, the Seattle Civil Rights and Labor History Project - don't miss their labor press page (and its bibliography.)
posted by ryanshepard at 6:46 AM on July 6

OK, one more and then I promise I'll stop :)

Robert L. Tyler's Rebels of the Woods: The I.W.W. in the Pacific Northwest. If you're still in Portland, the public library owns a copy.
posted by ryanshepard at 6:57 AM on July 6

No study in American labor is complete without Anarchism and Other Esays by Emma Goldman.
posted by munchingzombie at 7:03 AM on July 6

Socialism in America by Albert Fried
posted by R. Mutt at 7:11 AM on July 6

Big Trouble: A Murder in a Small Western Town Sets Off a Struggle for the Soul of America

Dynamite:The Story of Class Violence In America
posted by ursus_comiter at 7:28 AM on July 6

The Radical Middle Class: Populist Democracy and the Question of Capitalism in Progressive Era Portland, Oregon by R.D. Johnston
posted by susanvance at 7:43 AM on July 6

Purchasing Power: Consumer Organizing, Gender, and the Seattle Labor Movement, 1919-1929 by Dana Frank. A bit academic, but on point & interesting.
posted by yarrow at 8:46 AM on July 6

You should check out the UW Labor Center, they have a lot of good stuff. This page is a good place to start (although it is primarily documents and interviews, rather than books).

If you are interested in a novel that deals with the Wobblies in the PNW, the Everett Massacre and more (also the 1918 flu epidemic), I highly recommend The Last Town on Earth by Thomas Mullen.
posted by cushie at 10:02 AM on July 6

It's out of print but you can get it used, and it's incredibly comprehensive and well-researched: Strike! by Jeromy Brecher.
posted by nonmerci at 10:38 AM on July 6

Revolution in Seattle, about the Seattle General Strike of 1919. Lots more great radical resources about the labor movement at Haymarket Books.
posted by scody at 11:08 AM on July 6

oh, and seconding Brecher's Strike! Great book, a classic of left-wing labor history. It's available at Haymarket as well.
posted by scody at 11:09 AM on July 6

Not a book but you might enjoy the story of Spruce Guns.
posted by Abiezer at 1:16 PM on July 6