Since its original publication in 1987, Like a Family has become a
classic in the study of American labor history. Basing their research on
a series of extraordinary interviews, letters, and articles from the
trade press, the authors uncover the voices and experiences of workers
in the Southern cotton mill industry during the 1920s and 1930s. Now
with a new afterword, this edition stands as an invaluable contribution
to American social history.
"The genius of Like a Family lies in its effortless integration of the
history of the family--particularly women--into the history of the
cotton-mill world.--Ira Berlin, New York Times Book Review
"Like a Family is history, folklore, and storytelling all rolled into
one. It is a living, revelatory chronicle of life rarely observed by the
academe. A powerhouse.--Studs Terkel
"Here is labor history in intensely human terms. Neither great
impersonal forces nor deadening statistics are allowed to get in the way
of people. If students of the New South want both the dimensions and the
feel of life and labor in the textile industry, this book will be
immensely satisfying.--Choice