This is a book about Joe Hill, the Union Organiser and Wobbly Bard who was executed in 1915 in Salt Lake City, Utah. He of the famous son, sung in the 60's by Joan Baez, "I dreamed I saw Joe Hill last night, alive as you and me...".My edition is actually a Penguin edition not shown - which I got from Nile.This is a strange blend of fact and fiction, man and myth written by a wonderful author whose books have recently occupied many hors while in bed sick. Wallace Stegner is a beautiful, magnificent writer. He is almost un-put-downable, but you have to just to think, re-read and savour the writing.I will be reading all his work now. This book had me sitting almost in tears at the end, partly the story, partly the end of a journey in a world I did not want to leave. Stegner creates a full bloodied portrait of Joe and other characters like Lund. The violent battles between labour and industry are inspiring even today. Oh why are people not organising...I hated Joe's death and I did mourn - but as Joe said, "Don't waste time mourning. Organize"
I read this book because it happened to be on the must-read list of my favorite band at the time - Rage Against the Machine. Yes, I will concede that it was an arguably poor reason to read the book, but this book will be forever in my list of favorites. The book is the fictional account of the life and times of Joe Hill - famous union organizer and songwriter. The book gives such a human and ultimately relatable voice to its hero. In this book, Joe is portrayed as a reluctant leader struggling with his own personal demons and sense of self. Amidst a colorful tapestry of fellow workers, Joe Hill is revealed as man who is forced to come to terms with his own fallibility and the realization that no man is every really saved from himself.
What do You think about Joe Hill (1990)?
"I dreamed I saw Joe Hill last night, alive as you and me." So goes the Woody Guthrie song about the legend of a union man. He was big and tough. He was no angel. And he was dedicated to the organizing of One Big Union. His personal life didn't seem very important in contrast. That is the impression that Wallace Stegner gives in this fictionalized version of Joseph Hillstrom's life. The book takes you into the dusty IWW union halls, sometimes used as flop houses by itinerant workingmen. You can feel the squalor of a sweltering tent encampment where families of pickers live beside hops fields near Sacramento without the benefit of hope of a better life or basic sanitary facilities. Those familiar with labor history and the Wobblies know the ending. Joe never really died. He lives on as legend through his songs and the stories that are told about him. We could use a man of courage like Joe Hll, willing to fight for workers rights, even today. Especially today.
—Florence
