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kdwarn

kdwarn@bookwyrm.social

Joined 5 months, 4 weeks ago

Previously was reading history, nowadays it's mostly gardening and coding.

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kdwarn's books

Currently Reading

reviewed Mother Jones by Simon Cordery (Women's biography series)

Simon Cordery: Mother Jones (2010, University of New Mexico Press)

Review of 'Mother Jones' on 'Goodreads'

I stopped reading this at page 43 because the level of pure speculation and conjecture just became too great. The author attributes beliefs, behavior, and actions to Mother Jones that in no way can be made with such conviction, and his understanding of labor history is weak. This is just irresponsible scholarship.

Barry Estabrook: Tomatoland (Paperback, 2012, Andrews McMeel Publishing)

Investigative food journalist Barry Estabrook reveals the huge human and environmental cost of the $5 …

Review of 'Tomatoland' on 'Goodreads'

This is an excellent introduction to the tomato industry, farmwork, and the Coalition of Immokalee Workers. Estabrook explores the history of the tomato, its taste and biology, how/when (~1870) and why ("green, cheap, and off-season") tomato farming came to Florida, the fragility of the industry, and the heavy usage of pesticides and other chemicals. Most importantly, it is about the workers who pick the tomatoes. The most engaging and interesting section of the book was the four or so chapters in the middle on their conditions, the creation of the CIW, improvements made, the Fair Food Agreement, Code, etc. The broader context of the industry, including the opinions and circumstances of growers and consumers, makes the story all the more real. He also discusses alternatives (including one whole chapter) to large-scale, chemically based, industrial farming.

Barry Estabrook: Tomatoland (Paperback, 2012, Andrews McMeel Publishing)

Investigative food journalist Barry Estabrook reveals the huge human and environmental cost of the $5 …

None

This is an excellent introduction to the tomato industry, farmwork, and the Coalition of Immokalee Workers. Estabrook explores the history of the tomato, its taste and biology, how/when (~1870) and why ("green, cheap, and off-season") tomato farming came to Florida, the fragility of the industry, and the heavy usage of pesticides and other chemicals. Most importantly, it is about the workers who pick the tomatoes. The most engaging and interesting section of the book was the four or so chapters in the middle on their conditions, the creation of the CIW, improvements made, the Fair Food Agreement, Code, etc. The broader context of the industry, including the opinions and circumstances of growers and consumers, makes the story all the more real. He also discusses alternatives (including one whole chapter) to large-scale, chemically based, industrial farming.

Review of 'Battling for American labor : wobblies, craft workers, and the making of the union movement' on 'Goodreads'

Kimeldorf's main argument is that the American working class is not conservative nor bereft of class consciousness and that these supposed traits do not explain how the AFL became the dominant union structure in the first quarter of the 20th century. Despite different ideologies, he argues that the AFL and IWW were both "syndicalist" (a claim that rests on his misunderstanding of the meaning of that term, reducing it to just direct action at the point of production), and most rank-and-file workers were more concerned about bettering their conditions in the here and now than any far-off dream, whether that of AFL or IWW. He doesn't really succeed in his argument – sure, workers were not conservative, but that's not because they embraced his false definition of syndicalism.

He discusses the IWW at length on the docks in Philadelphia, and then uses their brief attempt at organizing restaurant and hotel …

None

Kimeldorf's main argument is that the American working class is not conservative nor bereft of class consciousness and that these supposed traits do not explain how the AFL became the dominant union structure in the first quarter of the 20th century. Despite different ideologies, he argues that the AFL and IWW were both "syndicalist" (a claim that rests on his misunderstanding of the meaning of that term, reducing it to just direct action at the point of production), and most rank-and-file workers were more concerned about bettering their conditions in the here and now than any far-off dream, whether that of AFL or IWW. He doesn't really succeed in his argument – sure, workers were not conservative, but that's not because they embraced his false definition of syndicalism.

He discusses the IWW at length on the docks in Philadelphia, and then uses their brief attempt at organizing restaurant and hotel …