Books for International Workers’ Day

What happens when Americans lose their jobs?  In American Made, an illuminating story of ruin and reinvention, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Farah Stockman gives an up-close look at the profound role work plays in our sense of identity and belonging, as she follows three workers whose lives unravel when the factory they have dedicated so much to closes down.

From one of the most electric and consequential figures to emerge from the contemporary American labor movement, the remarkable story of his battle to create the first Amazon union in the U.S. and a powerful call to arms on behalf of the working class.

From a leading public health expert and physician, and in the style of Studs Terkel’s Working, comes an eye-opening look at what it’s like to have to work physically hard for your money in America.

An enlightening and entertaining interrogation of the myth of American self-reliance and the idea of hard work as destiny.

The author of Three Minutes in Poland and Practicing uncovers the identities of the Empire State Building construction workers, made famous by Lewis W. Hine’s legendary portraits. This little-known chapter of American labor history captures forgotten stories and features more than 75 photos and other illustrations—some by Hine that have never been seen before—of working class, immigrant, and indigenous lives who built the architectural icon.

A vivid window into the world of working class men set during the Bakken fracking boom in North Dakota.

A moving and eye-opening look at the story of manufacturing in America, whether it can ever successfully return to our shores, and why our nation depends on it—told through the experience of one young couple in Maine as they attempt to rebuild a lost industry, ethically.

From a rising star in economics comes the first comprehensive look at the costs women face and why the bill runs especially high for women of color.