You may be surprised to know that the nation’s first red scare predates McCarthyism by more than 6 decades. Labor historian James Green brings vividly to life the struggle for the 8-hour working day at its epicenter, Chicago of the 1860s to the 1880s. But this books is much more than an academic history of the American working class - it also includes the drama and suspense of a courtroom thriller.

The other protagonists in this books are the men who would ultimately be known throughout the world as the 'Martyrs of Haymarket' and serve as the inspiration for the designation of May 1 as international labor day. The defendants of ‘the trial of the [19th] century’ were 8 anarchists whose ‘incendiary’ words were used to convict them of the death of several police officers and civilians when in May of 1886 an unidentified individual threw an explosive device on a workers’ demonstration at Haymarket Square.

Green’s narrative completely immerses you in the lives of the anarchists who played a leading role in the Chicago workers’ fight for a shorter working day. The author’s description of the trial and the attempt to secure an amnesty seems so much like a first-hand account that it almost appears for a while that the lives of the key anarchists - Parsons, Spies, Engel, and Fischer- will be spared but history tells us otherwise. The red scare that ensued after the Haymarket explosion led not only to the suppression of radicals of all shades but also to the defeat of the labor movement and its aftermath continued to affect American workers well into the 20th century. Green’s description of the authorities’ attack on civil liberties in order to stamp out ‘un-American’ beliefs is also eerily reminiscent of recent developments. ( )

If you're into American history, the history of the labor movement, or just want to see that how much things change, how much they stay the same, give it a read. Very interesting. Quite thought-provoking. ( )