The Rambling Kid: A Novel About The IWW

by Charles Ashleigh

One of the best and move informative books concerning the IWW. First published in London in 1930, this is, astonishingly, the first American edition. Soapboxer, writer, poet, agitator, and publicist, the British-born Ashleigh was active in the IWW from 1912 until his deportation 9 years later. As a first-hand account of the Wobbly way of life in the 1910s, The Rambling Kid was few equals. Charles Ashleigh's semi-autobiographical novel fills a void in the record of the events that led to the federal government's brutal attempts to suppress the 'One Big Union' during World War 1. Ashleigh's characters ride alongside IWW job delegates, bindle-stiffs, and gandy dancers as they crisscross the country hopping freight trains en route to jobs and strikes and everything in between. .....an intimate glimpse into pre-World War 1 workers' culture on the eve of the Russian Revolution. Steve Kellerman's superb introduction provides the critical and biographical context for understanding the importance of Ashleigh's work and the historical forces that produced The Rambling Kid [Salvatore Salerno]

286 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1930

Reviews

[Brandon · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice picture of life as an itinerant Wobbly. Good historical context and story, and less cartoonish/propagandist than I had expected (except for the last few pages). I read this for the history and I guess I kind of thought it would seem dated, but it didn't.