Bread and Roses: The Struggle of American Labor, 1865-1915 »

Uses original source material to portray the momentous changes that took place in American labor, industry, and trade-unionism following the Civil War. Focuses on the work ...

School Library Journal

Gr 7 Up-- The problem with this revision of Meltzer's classic labor history (NAL, 1977) is that the original consideration of African Americans in the labor force has not been expanded. Close comparison of five key chapters in the two versions, including the final chapter, ``Conclusion,'' yields only a few word changes (the term ``negroes'' has been replaced by ``blacks'' and ``Afro-Americans'') and simplification of statistics (``12.5 million'' instead of ``12,500,000''). More significantly, there have been some changes in pictures and captions and several enlightening illustrations have been eliminated. The ``Short Dictionary of Labor Terms'' is unaltered. The excellent bibliographic essay has been revised and expanded extensively. Some out-of-print titles have been deleted; others remain. Many subject area focuses, such as women workers, immigrant workers, and African-American workers, have been added, making the new bibliography excellent for more advanced students. Most of the sources cited are too sophisticated for the middle grades. Nevertheless, Meltzer's history continues to be outstanding for its readability, sensitivity, and insights. As in the original, there are no footnotes. Recommended for collections that don't own the earlier edition. --Tess McKellen, Packer Collegiate Institute, Brooklyn