OUT OF THE JUNGLE: Jimmy Hoffa and the Remaking of the American Working Class

One of the most dynamic and mysterious figures in American history, Jimmy Hoffa was a successful labor leader because, instead of promising workers abstract socialist ideologies, he delivered concrete gains, argues Russell in this well-researched study of the longtime Teamsters leader. Russell, who teaches at Barnard College, covers the outlines of Hoffa's life—his rise from a working-class background in Indiana, through an early labor career in Michigan, to dominance in the union world. He nurtured the Teamsters until they comprised the largest union in the country. His ties to the Mob, however, eventually landed him in jail and may have caused his still-unsolved disappearance (and presumed death) in 1975. But this book, the author's first, is more social history than biography. For Russell, Hoffa is both the product and the shaper of an American working class more focused on getting a piece of the pie than on creating a new society: "One of the most significant determinants in Hoffa's career was the desire of his union's members for material improvements in their lives." Russell casts Hoffa as a consummate guerrilla fighter who, in order to provide his followers with the wages they desired, was willing to do whatever was necessary to crush his labor competition, even if that meant aligning with criminals or with politicians unsympathetic to labor. In this scenario, Hoffa's methods—and indeed his success—eventually caught up with him. While the book seems aimed mainly at a scholarly audience (sometimes taking issue with, sometimes drawing on, the work of the "new labor historians"), its subject should appeal more broadly and could put Hoffa back on the historical map for a new generation of students of labor history. Eight pages of photos not seen by PW. (Sept. 12)

Forecast:Labor history is not an easy sell, but publicity in N.Y., where the author lives and teaches, and a print campaign may tap into lingering curiosity about the missing labor boss.