What do you think?
Rate this book
Roughneck: The Life and Times of Big Bill Haywood
Documents the stormy, controversial career and complex personality of Bill Haywood, discussing his union activities, prosecution, self exile in revolutionary Russia, and relationship with John Reed, Lenin, Clarence Darrow, and others.
356 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1983
101 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
July 31, 2012
This book is about thirty years old -- written in the 80's amusingly, when no one was really too worried about the strength or future of the union movement in America.
This book is a must-read for anyone interested in understanding the starts of the labor movement in America and who wants to get a good feel for what organizers were up against at that time.
While Haywood was considered a radical by most of the nacent labor establishment at that time, the history of the International Workers of the World and his tactics make not only for a great and inspiring story, but lay the foundation for a good understanding of the perils of organizing at that time.
Additionally, the book has relevance today as it seems America re-enters a new Gilded Age complete with robber barons, exploitive labor practices by large corporations, government intervention to prevent worker organizing and of course, the need for unified labor action.
Big Bill Haywood was a man larger than life and with a raw intelligence that puts to shame many of his day (and today) who can profess the privilege of formal higher education.
Carlson's writing is quality and flows very well, he cites his work in the back of the book, opting not to include footnotes throughout the text, which the reader can be thankful for, as his sources are numerous.
My criticism and I think this is relevant, is the author's conclusion in the end that Haywood was a failure in his time. I strongly disagree, not only did he, as Carlson points out, provide the push to move the labor movement forward and help to legitimize more establishment labor orgs, but the IWW is alive and well and growing today -- the labor struggle if far from over and if there is anytime where the "One Big Union" is relevant, it is today.
I'd just say that Haywood was a man 100 years ahead of his time. He saw the need for an organized, global movement of workers against the conglomerated confederation of corporate power. I highly recommend this book for any organizer -- you need to know the history in order to understand the future!
This book is a must-read for anyone interested in understanding the starts of the labor movement in America and who wants to get a good feel for what organizers were up against at that time.
While Haywood was considered a radical by most of the nacent labor establishment at that time, the history of the International Workers of the World and his tactics make not only for a great and inspiring story, but lay the foundation for a good understanding of the perils of organizing at that time.
Additionally, the book has relevance today as it seems America re-enters a new Gilded Age complete with robber barons, exploitive labor practices by large corporations, government intervention to prevent worker organizing and of course, the need for unified labor action.
Big Bill Haywood was a man larger than life and with a raw intelligence that puts to shame many of his day (and today) who can profess the privilege of formal higher education.
Carlson's writing is quality and flows very well, he cites his work in the back of the book, opting not to include footnotes throughout the text, which the reader can be thankful for, as his sources are numerous.
My criticism and I think this is relevant, is the author's conclusion in the end that Haywood was a failure in his time. I strongly disagree, not only did he, as Carlson points out, provide the push to move the labor movement forward and help to legitimize more establishment labor orgs, but the IWW is alive and well and growing today -- the labor struggle if far from over and if there is anytime where the "One Big Union" is relevant, it is today.
I'd just say that Haywood was a man 100 years ahead of his time. He saw the need for an organized, global movement of workers against the conglomerated confederation of corporate power. I highly recommend this book for any organizer -- you need to know the history in order to understand the future!
August 4, 2011
Great biography of an exciting life.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews