{"product_id":"rising-from-the-rails-pullman-porters-and-the-making-of-the-black-middle-class-paperback","title":"Rising from the Rails: Pullman Porters and the Making of the Black Middle Class - Paperback","description":"\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eLarry Tye\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eA valuable window into a long-underreported dimension of African American history.--\u003ci\u003eNewsday\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003eAn engaging social history that reveals the critical role Pullman porters played in the struggle for African American civil rights\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e When George Pullman began recruiting Southern blacks as porters in his luxurious new sleeping cars, the former slaves suffering under Jim Crow laws found his offer of a steady job and worldly experience irresistible. They quickly signed up to serve as maid, waiter, concierge, nanny, and occasionally doctor and undertaker to cars full of white passengers, making the Pullman Company the largest employer of African American men in the country by the 1920s. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e In the world of the Pullman sleeping car, where whites and blacks lived in close proximity, porters developed a unique culture marked by idiosyncratic language, railroad lore, and shared experience. They called difficult passengers Mister Charlie; exchanged stories about Daddy Jim, the legendary first Pullman porter; and learned to distinguish generous tippers such as Humphrey Bogart from skinflints like Babe Ruth. At the same time, they played important social, political, and economic roles, carrying jazz and blues to outlying areas, forming America's first black trade union, and acting as forerunners of the modern black middle class by virtue of their social position and income. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Drawing on extensive interviews with dozens of porters and their descendants, Larry Tye reconstructs the complicated world of the Pullman porter and the vital cultural, political, and economic roles they played as forerunners of the modern black middle class. \u003ci\u003eRising from the Rails\u003c\/i\u003e provides a lively and enlightening look at this important social phenomenon. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003e- Named a Recommended Book by \u003ci\u003eThe Boston Globe\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eSan Francisco Chronicle\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eThe Seattle Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eLARRY TYE\u003c\/b\u003e has been an award-winning journalist at \u003ci\u003eThe Boston Globe\u003c\/i\u003e and a Nieman Fellow at Harvard University. He now runs a Boston-based training program for medical journalists. He is the author of the \u003ci\u003eNew York Times \u003c\/i\u003ebestseller \u003ci\u003eSatchel\u003c\/i\u003e, as well as \u003ci\u003eBobby Kennedy\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eSuperman\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Father of Spin\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eHome Lands\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eRising from the Rails\u003c\/i\u003e, and co-author, with Kitty Dukakis, of \u003ci\u003eShock\u003c\/i\u003e. He lives in Massachusetts.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 352\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 1 x 8.2 x 5.5 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e June 01, 2005\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Books by splitShops","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51761331077408,"sku":"9780805078503","price":21.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0974\/9764\/5344\/files\/d9f25baa0038d6a00e241c133d1a430a.webp?v=1780204744","url":"https:\/\/ebocreations.com\/products\/rising-from-the-rails-pullman-porters-and-the-making-of-the-black-middle-class-paperback","provider":"The E-Book Oasis LLC","version":"1.0","type":"link"}