The Pullman boycott : $b A complete history of the great R. R. strike

In the opening pages, the narrator—a lifelong railway switchman—sets the stage for the nation‑shaking Pullman boycott by tracing the birth of the American Railway Union in 1893 and introducing its charismatic leader, Eugene V. Debs. Drawing on telegrams, committee reports, and the candid coverage of the Chicago Times, he paints a vivid picture of workers confronting a powerful corporate regime that denies them the basic right to organize. The tone is personal and gritty, offering a front‑row seat to the early days of a strike that would test the limits of industrial America.

The book then follows the first frantic weeks as the boycott spreads, federal troops march in, and local officials clash with a determined labor movement. Witness the raw emotions of the railmen, the heated appeals from Debs, and the stark contrast between the workers’ pleas and the managers’ propaganda. By staying close to contemporary accounts, the narrative captures the urgency and hope of a moment when ordinary people dared to challenge the forces that controlled their livelihoods.