Out of the Jungle: Jimmy Hoffa and the Remaking of the American Working Class

by Thaddeus Russell

Book Overview

Jimmy Hoffa is one of the most storied figures in American history, a rough-and-tumble Indiana native who became the head of the largest and most powerful union in twentieth-century America. More than... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0375411577
• ISBN13: 9780375411571
• Release Date: September 2001
• Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf
• Length: 275 Pages
• Weight: 1.05 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 6.8" x 9.6"

Customer Reviews

Hoffa's Proletariat

Walk up to a group of twenty-five Americans on any street corner and throw out some names. Try Al Gore, Dick Cheney, Bill Frist, or the Governor of the state you happen to be in and see how many in the group recognize the name. Then try the name Jimmy Hoffa. Most of the group may not really know who Hoffa was but they will be familiar with the name. For better or worse, just like Elvis, Jimmy Hoffa has become an American icon. Just before he began his term in prison, Hoffa was even compared to Christ by a local leader of the NAACP. Thaddeus Russell has taken on the task of telling the story of Hoffa the Teamster. This is not really a biography of Hoffa the man for his family is barely mentioned nor is his daily life dealt with. This is the story of Hoffa and his Union and the history of the man and the organization are so deeply intertwined that this almost becomes a biography of the IBT. Russell really begins his story with Hoffa's early employment and his entry into the Union. From that point the author takes the reader along for the ride as the unknown Hoffa and his tiny Detroit local move into the big time. It is a fascinating story. As the reader travels this sometimes-bumpy road he or she will gain several insights into the current state of American Labor. Hoffa gained the unswerving loyalty of his members by providing them with what they cared about. They wanted higher wages, shorter hours, and better benefits and Hoffa delivered. In contrast to Hoffa, after WWII many Union leaders adopted a corporatist outlook. Many Labor leaders had held this view before the war but it became dominant during the conflict. Their view was that Labor should give up many of it's best tools in order to become an equal partner in the decision making process of government. Russell never uses the term but their views were basically fascist in nature. Not Hitler's version, but true fascism which has never been practiced anywhere but went through a time of great popularity among intellectuals. The power given up by these corporatists still handicaps Labor to this day. Hoffa refused to surrender any tool he had at his disposal and fell out of favor with the rest of Labor.Russell also covers Hoffa's relationship with the crime world. It appears that while Hoffa did indeed profit by some of his connections, his main reason for reaching out to the Mob in the first place was to gain needed muscle. Had that muscle been used exclusively against goons hired by management it would have been somewhat excusable. Many times however, that brute force was used against other unions. The odd thing is that after his release from prison Hoffa was seen by these underworld figures as a threat to their position in the IBT and that seems to have caused his disappearance. One wonders what would have happened if Hoffa had regained control of the Teamsters. For someone who has studied the labor movement or a novice in this subject matter, this is a very good book. It is very well written

The reader is provided with his checkered life story

Strongly recommended reading, Out Of The Jungle: Jimmy Hoffa And The Remaking Of The American Working Class by Thaddeus Russell (Assistant Professor of History, Barnard College) is an informed and informative biography of the famous labor leader Jimmy Hoffa. The reader is provided with his checkered life story and the murderous tragedy that ultimately befell him at the hands of organized crime figures. A detailed and in-depth study, Out Of The Jungle is unflinching in its close attention to Hoffa's diverse virtues and follies alike.

Groundbreaking

This book upsets the pieties of the left without serving the agenda of the right. No wonder some reviewers have accused Russell of pardoning Hoffa post-humously, while others have accused him of undue vilification. They're confused, because Out of the Jungle is not warped by the ideological orthodoxies that have made so many other books of labor history so boring, predictable, sanctimonious and sometimes even dishonest. Out of the Jungle is a breakthrough, a meticulous, clear-headed analysis of what made Hoffa an effective leader. One can only hope more labor historians will follow Russell's lead in the future