author
James J. (James John) Davis
1873–1947
From a Welsh steel mill childhood to the U.S. Cabinet and Senate, this writer lived a strikingly American story. Best known as “Puddler Jim,” he brought firsthand experience of labor, immigration, and public life into his work.
1 Audiobook
The Iron Puddler: My Life in the Rolling Mills and What Came of It
by James J. (James John) Davis
About the author
Born in Tredegar, South Wales, in 1873, he immigrated to the United States as a child and grew up in Pennsylvania. He worked in the steel industry, where he earned the nickname “Puddler Jim,” and later became active in labor organizations.
His public career was unusually broad. He served as U.S. Secretary of Labor from 1921 to 1930 under three presidents, and later represented Pennsylvania in the U.S. Senate. He was also known for his leadership in the Loyal Order of Moose.
As an author, his writing grew out of that life experience: industrial work, union activity, business success, and national politics. That background gives his books a direct connection to the big questions of work, immigration, and American civic life in the early twentieth century.