Iron and Steel

“This informative and interesting look into the skilled world of Birmingham’s iron and steel workers will surely stand the test of time.” — Alabama Review

“An intelligent, clearly argued book that deserves to be read.” — American Historical Review

“This impressive book illuminates the workplace conflicts, political battles, racial tensions, and community struggles that shaped working-class life in the New South. It is based on exhaustive research and is at once authoritative in its treatment of Birmingham’s working people and nuanced in its analysis of the intersection of technology, industrial development, community institutions, and public life.” — Robert H. Zieger, University of Florida

“Better than anyone who has written so far about southern workers, [McKiven] shows exactly how skilled white workers consciously separated themselves from unskilled blacks in order to protect their own material interests. He goes on to explain how industrialists encouraged the elevation of blacks up the job ladder in the 1910s and thus threatened the white monopoly of good jobs. The intimate details of workplace race tension mark a significant contribution to the race vs. class discussion in southern history.” — Robert J. Norrell, University of Alabama