"From many standpoints, this is a wonderful book... The chapters are consistent in format, covering life at home and at work as well as family budgets, incomes, and the prices of goods and services...overall this volume is a great combination of history, economics, and sociology...Summing Up: Highly Recommended."
-CHOICE

"The volume 'promises to enhance our understanding of the growth and development of the working class over more than a century.' It capably fulfills this promise. This work will be a valuable tool for both researchers and educators. It is recommended for all types of libraries."
-ARBA

"These interesting, unique compilations of economic and social facts, figures and graphs will support multiple research needs. They will engage and enlighten patrons in high school, public and academic library collections." (Vol 1)
-Booklist

Working Americans 1880-2012
Volume I: The Working Class, Second Edition

Table of Contents

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Pub. Date: March 2012
Hardcover: 600 pages
ISBN:978-1-59237-564-6
Price: $150.00
EBook ISBN: 978-1-59237-567-7 EBook Vendors

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for your library

The updated Second Edition of this important reference work focuses on the lifestyles and economic life of working class families and looks, decade by decade, into the kind of work they did, the homes they lived in, the food and clothes they bought, the entertainment they sought as well as the society and history that shaped the world Americans worked in from 1880 to 2012. From the wealth of government surveys, social worker histories, economic data, family diaries and letters, newspaper and magazine features, this unique reference assembles a remarkably personal and realistic look at the lives of ordinary working Americans.

Each chapter of Working Americans, 1880-2012 Volume 1: The Working Class covers one decade, except the first chapter (1888-1899), and opens with an overview of important events to anchor the decade in its time frame. The working class is then explored by examining the lives of three to five working class families.

These Family Profiles include important, real data on:

Income & Job Descriptions
Selected Prices of the times
Annual Income
Annual Budget of Individuals
Family Finances
Family Budget
Life at Work
Life at Home
Life in the Community
Working Conditions
Cost of Living
Amusements
National Current events
Local News
and much more

Each chapter also includes an Economic Profile. This series of statistical comparisons is designed to put the family's individual lifestyles and decisions in perspective. These charts include the average wages of other professions during the year being profiled, a selection of typical pricing and key events and inventions of the time. Enhancing some of the chapters are examinations of important issues faced by the family, such as how Americans coped with war.

In addition to the detailed economic and social data for each family, each chapter is further enriched with historical snapshots, news profiles, articles from local media and illustrations derived from popular printed materials of the day, such as clippings from cereal boxes, campaign buttons, political cartoons, postcards, and posters.

The Second Edition of Working Americans, 1880-2012 Volume 1: The Working Class offers 72 Family Profiles that cover 34 occupations and more than 25 ethnic groups. Geographically, the text travels the entire country, from the East Coast to Hawaii, from urban factories to homesteaders to provide comprehensive coverage of the lifestyles of working class families that is available nowhere else.

This rich economical and social compilation of facts, figures, and graphs will enhance a wide range of curriculums and meet multiple research needs. Working Americans, 1880-2012 Volume 1: The Working Class is an interesting and useful compilation of portraits of the working class across the last 130 years that will be an important addition to any high school, public or academic library reference collection.

Pub. Date: March 2012
Hardcover: 600 pages
ISBN: 978-1-59237-564-6
Price: $150.00
EBook ISBN: 978-1-59237-567-7 EBook Vendors

Note: If you find this work does not fit your budget, please print out this page and bring it to your local library. There is a reasonable chance they either have a copy, can direct you to a library that does, or will be willing to purchase it for their reference collection.

Working Americans 1880-2012Volume I: The Working Class, Second Edition

Working Americans 1880-2012
Volume I: The Working Class, Second Edition