[LMC]⋙ PDF Out of This Furnace A Novel of Immigrant Labor in America Thomas Bell David P Demarest 9780822952732 Books

Out of This Furnace A Novel of Immigrant Labor in America Thomas Bell David P Demarest 9780822952732 Books

Download As PDF : Out of This Furnace A Novel of Immigrant Labor in America Thomas Bell David P Demarest 9780822952732 Books

Out of This Furnace A Novel of Immigrant Labor in America Thomas Bell David P Demarest 9780822952732 Books

Out of this furnace by Bell_ Thomas
Starts out in 1880's and with the travel by foot George Kracha travels from NY to PA. He had other family members who could get him a job at the railroad...
His wife is sent over and she gets pregnant often and they live in a shanty.
Unions form so men can get paid what they are worth...interesting to hear of their struggles and how they overcome poverty and lack of work at times...
Generations of the family and how they lived and died.
I received this book from National Library Service for my BARD (Braille Audio Reading Device).


Tags : Out of This Furnace: A Novel of Immigrant Labor in America [Thomas Bell, David P. Demarest] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. <DIV><P><I>Out of This Furnace </I>is Thomas Bell’s most compelling achievement.  Its story of three generations of an immigrant Slovak family -- the Dobrejcaks -- still stands as a fresh and extraordinary accomplishment.</P><P>The novel begins in the mid-1880s with the naive blundering career of Djuro Kracha. It tracks his arrival from the old country as he walked from New York to White Haven,Thomas Bell, David P. Demarest,Out of This Furnace: A Novel of Immigrant Labor in America,University of Pittsburgh Press,0822952734,Literary,Autobiographical fiction,Braddock (Pa.),Braddock (Pa.);Fiction.,Immigrants - Pennsylvania,Pennsylvania,Slovaks - Pennsylvania - Braddock,Slovaks - Pennsylvania - Braddock - History,Slovaks;Pennsylvania;Braddock;History;Fiction.,Steel industry and trade - Pennsylvania - Braddock,Steel industry and trade - Pennsylvania - Braddock - History,Steel industry and trade;Pennsylvania;Braddock;History;Fiction.,Braddock,FICTION Historical General,FICTION Literary,Fiction,Fiction - Historical,Fiction-Literary,Historical - General,History,Modern & contemporary fiction (post c 1945),Modern fiction,Slovaks,Steel industry and trade,UNIVERSITY PRESS,Steel manufacturing; history of steel manufacturing; Homestead; Braddock; Edgar Thompson Works; U.S. Steel; Andrew Carnegie; Henry Clay Frick; Homestead strike; United Steelworkers Union; Steel Mills; Pittsburgh Steel; Slovak immigrants; Eastern European immigrants; Polish immigrants; Czech immigrants; Pittsburgh history; Industrial history; immigrant experience; Slovakia; unionization of the steel industry; Homestead riots; Steelworkers strikes; Blast furnaces; Dorothy 6; Hazelwood works; Irwin Works; Jones and Laughlin Steel; J&L Steel; Duquesne Works; Southside Steel; Hot Metal Bridge; McKeesport Works; Rankin; Munhall; West Mifflin; Whitaker; West Homestead; steel workers; Hunkies; Hungarians; Belorussians; Ukrainians; Eastern Europeans in Pittsburgh; Allegheny County history,Steel manufacturing;history of steel manufacturing;Homestead;Braddock;Edgar Thompson Works;U.S. Steel;Andrew Carnegie;Henry Clay Frick;Homestead strike;United Steelworkers Union;Steel Mills;Pittsburgh Steel;Slovak immigrants;Eastern European immigrants;Polish immigrants;Czech immigrants;Pittsburgh history;Industrial history;immigrant experience;Slovakia;unionization of the steel industry;Homestead riots;Steelworkers strikes;Blast furnaces;Dorothy 6;Hazelwood works;Irwin Works;Jones and Laughlin Steel;J&L Steel;Duquesne Works;Southside Steel;Hot Metal Bridge;McKeesport Works;Rankin;Munhall;West Mifflin;Whitaker;West Homestead;steel workers;Hunkies;Hungarians;Belorussians;Ukrainians;Eastern Europeans in Pittsburgh;Allegheny County history

Out of This Furnace A Novel of Immigrant Labor in America Thomas Bell David P Demarest 9780822952732 Books Reviews

Out of this Furnace by Thomas Bell is a powerful, emotional and well written reminder of what it is to be American. This book is the fictional account of 3 generations of a Slovak family that immigrated to America and got caught up in the Steel mills in Pennsylvania during the late 19th and early 20th century. As with any family one only hopes that each generation moves up a little in life.

Out of This Furnace, is a tale of human labor and fight for the basic American rights we take for granted. In so many cases, many think of the first Americans as those pilgrims arriving in wooden sailing ships and traders that fought Indians. Thomas Bell reminds us that everyday new Americans arrive here from different lands besides England, Ireland, Scotland or Germany. Here we have a Slovak family, from poor peasant roots in Eastern Europe who sailed in steerage on steel ships and find them selves working for Irish and English Foremen and Managers. These Slovaks have a little known Ethnic pride that the book helps bring out. As in all tales it is full of the human tragedy that haunted the factories of the early 1900's. Some chapters made me smile and laugh out loud while others brought tears to my eyes and made me really think about my own life and worth.

This book would be excellent for anyone interested in Slovak immigrants, the Steel mill labor movement or just a good ol' tale of the pursuit of the American dream from a different perspective. A page turner, heart tugging reminder of what America is about and how no matter how hard, life moves forward and time marches on.
Based on the account and documentation the author paints a wonderful picture of life in early America. You follow the life and family of a western-European immigrant. From the railroads of Pittsburgh to the steel mills of homestead the reader learns the terrible life immigrants and their children faced in the early years of the U.S.'s industrialization. From generation to generation the books reveals that labor history is an important part of American history. The gradual improvements gained by the descendants of immigrants is shown to be a crucial piece of understanding the modern labor union.
Thomas Bell's "Out of This Furnace" is a powerful saga that chronicles the struggles and triumphs of three generations of the Dobrejcaks, a Slovak-American family in the Pittsburgh-area steel-making city of Braddock, Pennsylvania. Bell's clean, disciplined, no-nonsense prose style complements well his story of people who cope with entrenched ethnic discrimination while seeking to build their own American dream within the dangerous world of the Braddock steel mills. Because Bell drew upon his own family's history (his original family name was Belejcak), he writes with authenticity and verisimilitude about the steel towns -- not just the specifics of a mill's operation, but also the grim look of a steel-making community and the strained social dynamic between supervisors and workers.

In Bell's multi-generational saga, the immigrant first generation is personified by George Kracha, who comes to America, struggles to cope with the bewildering transition from old-country traditions to a new life in the United States, and makes some bad choices that cancel out the initial promise of his life in America. The second generation is represented by Mike and Mary Dobrejcak, who work hard and do their best but run up against tragic circumstance. And the third generation is embodied by Dobie, a young man who learns, through becoming involved in labor activism, how to fight back effectively against the injustices of 20th-century American industrial life.

Pittsburgh-area readers may particularly enjoy the way in which this novel chronicles part of the history of Western Pennsylvania. This University of Pittsburgh edition of "Out of This Furnace" includes a helpful afterword by Pennsylvania literature scholar David Demarest of Carnegie-Mellon University. I think that Bell's ancestors who labored so hard in the steel mills would have taken pride in the spirit of conscientious workmanship with which Bell crafted this strong and effective novel.
I bought this book primarily for its historical content, and I was absolutely delighted by how much I enjoyed it. I became involved in the interesting characters and powerful description immediately, and really couldn't put the book down. What impressed me beyond the story itself was the quality of the writing. Thomas Bell is an amazing writer! His level of detail is exquisite. He crafts a good character and is not afraid to make those characters flawed. The raw honesty of his language is remarkably contemporary.

Yes, this is a historical novel about immigration in the late 19C and early 20C. Based on the author's own family story, its historical accuracy is impressive. I can see from other reviewers that this has been used in history courses; this book truly has the authority to be taught and discussed in any class on immigration history. The message it bears, about how the Slovak immigrants were treated, is very relevant to us today. So many groups have come into the USA and been treated as less than human, despite the fact that their labor fueled the large American industrial corporations and brought them great profit. Every United States citizen who traces her or his heritage to an immigrant needs to read this book.
Out of this furnace by Bell_ Thomas
Starts out in 1880's and with the travel by foot George Kracha travels from NY to PA. He had other family members who could get him a job at the railroad...
His wife is sent over and she gets pregnant often and they live in a shanty.
Unions form so men can get paid what they are worth...interesting to hear of their struggles and how they overcome poverty and lack of work at times...
Generations of the family and how they lived and died.
I received this book from National Library Service for my BARD (Braille Audio Reading Device).