Don't Know Much

“The Blood and Sweat Behind Labor Day” (CNN.com)

“To most Americans, the first Monday in September means a three-day weekend and the last hurrah of summer, a final outing at the shore before school begins, a family picnic.

But Labor Day was born in a time when work was no picnic. As America was moving from farms to factories in the Industrial Age, there was a long, violent, often-deadly struggle for fundamental workers’ rights, a struggle that in many ways was America’s “other civil war.”

Read more about the history of Labor Day at CNN.com

The Latest From My Blog

The World in Books: A Year of Reading–Wisely

Make a “Reading Resolution” with “The World in Books”: “A wealth of succinct, entertaining advice.” (Kirkus) Now available in paperback

Read More

It is NOT Presidents Day. Or President’s Day. Or Even Presidents’ Day.

We mistakenly call the third Monday in February “Presidents Day.” But it is really still George Washington’s Birthday. And this one is like no other.

Read More