Reviews for Western Europe since 1945: A Political History - Derek W. Urwin - Paperback - 3d ed

The average rating for Western Europe since 1945: A Political History - Derek W. Urwin - Paperback - 3d ed based on 2 reviews is 3.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2016-02-26 00:00:00 Mendy Liddle The fourth book in Philip Foner's expansive history of the U.S. labor movement. This volume, as indicated by the subtitle, is dedicated to the Industrial Workers of the World in the pre-World War I era. It's the best of the four volumes by Foner I've read so far. I was introduced the the IWW as an undergrad when I went and heard an IWW speaker address a crowd of about 4 people, myself included, in some room of the student union at Arizona State University. Yes, the IWW still exists (some years ago they came within a hair's breadth of organizing Jimmy Johns sandwich restaurants as I recall), but it is just a shadow of the organization it was during its heyday. In simple terms, the IWW believed in industrial unionism at a time when craft unionism was dominant, and also believed in organizing workers ultimately into "one big union" of all working people. Foner does a good job of explaining both the strengths and weaknesses of the IWW. It was the most radical labor organization to gain real traction in U.S. history and was extensively involved not only in labor fights but also famously stood up for free speech and expression in a time when those rights were under attack in the lead up to World War I. The radical nature of the organization attracted many adherents but also gave its opponents plenty of ammunition to use against the labor movement more broadly. Moreover, the IWW's insistence on anarchist principles that downplay centralization and leadership and eschewing of the building of treasuries for drawn out strike battles often undercut the effectiveness of the organization against employers that had deep financial resources and institutional support from governments and industry groups. I don't think anyone would exactly describe these books as "riveting" reading, but some of the stories about the free speech battles in particular are very memorable. The IWW pioneered a tactic of setting up speech-makers in public spaces, knowing authorities would arrest them. When one person would be arrested, another would take his place, with thousands of IWW members (or "Wobblies" as they are sometimes called) coming from all over the country to join the fight. Sometimes the speakers would be arrested for reading the Constitution or Bill of Rights, which is quite the delicious irony. Eventually the jails would be so full of IWW members that there wouldn't be any more room to house them, and the municipalities would be forced to release them. It was also the IWW that pioneered the concept of the picket line as a public strike activity, drawing more attention to the workers and their cause. The story of the IWW feels like one of the great untold bits of American history--a secret history that you need to work to uncover and understand. This book is an excellent resource for understanding that history for the time period in question.

Review # 2 was written on 2009-01-05 00:00:00 Aixa Rodriguez Mariani Clear concise and well documented. Very good at explaining the strengths and contributions of the movement as well as its fatal flaws.