First published 1999
Young Eugene Debs walks through the pastoral streets of Terre Haute, Indiana, where his childhood unfolds in the fading golden years before the Civil War transforms his quiet town into a bustling transportation hub for industrial expansion. He finds work in the railroad yards, where the harsh conditions and struggles of his fellow workers open his eyes to the growing divide between labor and capital. Debs throws himself into union organizing, editing labor newspapers and crisscrossing the country to build solidarity among workers. His experiences forge a deep consciousness that drives him to champion collective action and found the Industrial Workers of the World. The railroad worker turned activist runs for president as the Socialist candidate five times, including three campaigns conducted from behind prison bars. Through Debs, Young captures the conflicted forces that shaped industrial America and the roots of its labor and socialist movements. This sweeping novel presents an epic cast of characters whose struggles mirror the transformation of a nation.
Genres: american-fiction, historical-fiction, 20th-century, labor, biography-memoir, 19th-century, activism, american-history
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: epic-story, historical-figure, social-commentary
Setting: Indiana, Terre Haute
Period: Civil War, Industrial Revolution
624 pages · Hardcover · Alfred A. Knopf (NYC)