Ocean State Libraries

"Character-driven stories about the people who make our lives run every day--and yet we barely think of them"--

In ten years, Iain Levison has lived in six states and worked at forty-two jobs, from fish cutter in Alaska to furniture mover in North Carolina, film-set gopher, oil deliveryman, truck driver, and crab fisherman. He quit thirty of them, got fired from nine, and has difficulty remembering the other three. Whatever could go wrong often did, hilariously. A Working Stiff's Manifesto is a funny book about the not-so-funny experience of dead-end jobs-the...

A simple introduction to various jobs in Colonial America, including those performed by blacksmiths, coopers, and shoemakers.

The newly discovered slave narratives of John Washington and Wallace Turnage—and their harrowing and empowering journey to emancipation.
 
Slave narratives, among the most powerful records of our past, are extremely rare, with only fifty-five surviving post-Civil War. This book is a major new addition to this imperative part of American history—the firsthand accounts of two slaves, John Washington and Wallace...

The phrase a strong work ethic conjures images of hard-driving employees working diligently for long hours. But where did this ideal come from, and how has it been buffeted by changes in work itself? While seemingly rooted in Americas Puritan heritage, perceptions of work ethic have actually undergone multiple transformations over the centuries. And few eras saw a more radical shift in labor ideology than the American industrial age. Daniel T. Rodgers...

“His aim is to make the history of labor in the U.S. more accessible to students and the general reader. He succeeds” (Booklist).
 
In a blend of economic, social, and political history, Paul Le Blanc shows how important labor issues have been, and continue to be, in the forging of our nation.
 
Within a broad analytical framework, he highlights issues of class, gender, race, and ethnicity,...