Rick Fantasia is Associate Professor of Sociology at Smith College.
Review
"Fantasia has produced an admirable book. It is beautifully written and balanced in its analysis, and carefully
interweaves theory and data. It will appeal to both specialists and nonspecialists interested in the working class."
--David Halle, Contemporary Sociology
"I would rate this book near the top of whatever scales measure importance. Good, strong, first-rate, unusually
worthy, original--these are the adjectives that come to my mind."
--Kai Erikson, Yale University
"This is a powerful and important book. It will challenge and educate specialists in the areas of the sociology
and history of unions and social movements and the sociology of organizations."
--Michael Schwartz, SUNY, Stony Brook
University Of California Press Web Site, March, 2000
Summary
A commonplace assumption about American workers is that they lack class consciousness. This perception has baffled
social scientists, demoralized activists, and generated a significant literature on American exceptionalism. In
this provocative book, a young sociologist takes the prevailing assumptions to task and sheds new light upon this
very important issue. In three vivid case studies Fantasia explores the complicated, multi-faceted dynamics of
American working-class consciousness and collective action.
