The Wobblies in Their Heyday: The Rise and Destruction of the Industrial Workers of the World during the World War I Era - Hardcover

"Meticulously researched, Chester's study has a narrow focus and will be of greatest interest to labor historians. Profiles, notes, and a bibliographic essay at the end of the book will assist scholars of the labor movement. However, the book's balanced judgments, indicting illegal and unethical government and corporate actions as well as ill-advised decisions by IWW leaders, will also inform all readers interested in social protest movements. Summing Up: Recommended. Graduate students, researchers, and faculty." - Choice

During World War I, the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) rose to prominence as an effective, militant union and then was destroyed by a devastating campaign of repression launched by the federal government. This book documents the rise and fall of this important industrial labor organization. * Offers an accurate portrayal of the Wobblies as a group of dedicated radicals who viewed workplace organizing as one aspect of a broader movement to bring about fundamental social change * Presents information drawn from a wide range of documents held in the National Archives that were kept closed to the public for many decades after the World War I era * Provides a unique case study of the profound impact that World War I had on those who remained at home and how the federal government stifled dissent to quell popular discontent * Represents the only modern, in-depth, and scholarly examination of the IWW in its heyday