Barons of Labor: The San Francisco Building Trades and Union Power in the Progressive Era

Kanin's research is solid, and for those interested in San Francisco during the Gilded Age, or labor history, this is a must-read. Focusing in on a clique of unionists that seized contol of the city government, with a particular emphasis on Patrick Henry McCarthy. No, he was not a typical business unionist, but rather a urban progressive who combined a pratical wage-worker consciousness with a social reform mentality. On the other hand, he had no problem fusing a racist ideology into his form of progresivism. If you bothered to read this review, buy this book.