Review by Choice Review
Weber has written an excellent history of the 1933 San Joaquin, California cotton strike, an epic in labor history in which three Mexican workers were shot down on picket lines and nine other died as a result of the strike. The author carries the story into the late 1930s. Weber (Univ. of California-Riverside) adds another dimension to the monumental works of agricultural economist Paul Taylor. In addition to valuable archival research, Weber literally hunted down participants in the strikes, conducting more than 100 interviews that included some with women. Through social and family networks, cotton workers adopted their own strategies, often pushing organized labor into radical action. Weber skillfully incorporates this microview of agricultural labor and New Deal programs. The latter often hindered the organization of farm labor, aiding the cause of the large farmer. After the 1993 cotton strike Mexican workers were steadily replaced by white workers from Oklahoma, Arkansas, and west Texas. The parallels between these Mexican workers of the 1930s and the Mexican and Salvadoran service workers of present-day Los Angeles are glaring. Dark Sweat, White Gold is an important work. It is well footnoted and has an excellent bibliography and index. All levels. R. Acu~na; California State University, Northridge
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Choice Review
