Labor

A Craftsman’s Legacy: Why Working with Our Hands Gives Us Meaning by Eric Gorges with Jon Sternfeld, Algonquin Books , 2019. PBS & Motorcycles The author has a PBS show with the same title as this book. He also runs a busibness called Voodoo Choppers, which makes custom motorcycles. Topics Ceramics, art glass, stoneware, metal work (copper, brass, steel, silver, gold) Stone carving Sword smithing Custom clocks Knitting Woodworking Furniture making Make musical instruments

Shop Class as Soulcraft: An Inquiry into the Value of Work by Matthew B. Crawford, Penguin Books, Reprint, Paperback,, 2010.

The Long Haul: A Trucker's Tales of Life on the Road by Finn Murphy, W. W. Norton & Company, 2018.

A Trucker's Tale: Wit, Wisdom, and True Stories from 60 Years on the Road by Ed Miller, Apollo Publishers, 2023.

King of the Road: True Tales from a Legendary Ice Road Trucker by Alex Debogorski, Trade Paper Press, 2011.

The Good Hand: A Memoir of Work, Brotherhood, and Transformation in an American Boomtown by Michael Patrick F. Smith, Penguin Books, 2022.

Don't Tell Mom I Work On The Rigs: She Thinks I'm a Piano Player in a Whorehouse by Paul Carter, Grand Central Publishing, 2007.

The Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America’s Shining Women  by Kate Moore, Sourcebooks, 2017.

Rivethead: Tales from the Assembly Line  by Ben Hamper. Warner Books; Reprint edition (1992)  A very funny book about working on the General Motors assembly line in Flint, Michigan from 1977 to 1988, taken from a newspaper column he wrote at the time.

Heads in Beds: A Reckless Memoir of Hotels, Hustles, and So-Called Hospitality by Jacob Tomsky, Anchor (Doubleday), 2012.  The author gained entry into the hospitality industry via being a parking valet at a Luxury Downtown Hotel in New Orleans. At hotels the main division among the staff is between the front desk and the back, which is housekeeping. The front desk is higher status. At one point he moved from New Orleans to New York City. The book contains many stories of pat

Waiter Rant: Thanks for the Tip-Confessions of a Cynical Waiter by Steve Dublanica, Ecco Harper Perennial ed., Paperback,, 2009.

Race & Economics: How Much Can Be Blamed on Discrimination?  by Walter E. Williams, Hoover Institution Press, 2011.  In 1931 the Davis-Bacon Act (named for Senator James J. Davis and Representative Robert L. Bacon) was passed. It required that employees of firms that received federal government contracts should receive wages no lower than the prevailing market wage. It was passed with the support of white union officials with the purpose of excluding black people who were wil