| Book Review | The Journal of American History, 88.1

You have not been recognized as a subscriber to JAH online. About 172 words from this article are provided below; about 394 words remain.

If you are a individual member of the Organization of American Historians, you may:: • login here if you have already registered for online access.; • Or if you're already logged in register your subscription.
• Set up your online account for the first time.
If you are not a member of the Organization of American Historians, you can:: • Join the OAH and receive many member benefits including print and electronic issues of the Journal of American History.
• Purchase a research pass to gain two-hour access to the entire History Cooperative web site. You will have full access to current issues of the Journal of American History (86.1-present). Note: the Research Pass does not provide access to JSTOR's holdings of the Journal of American History.
Instititutions can:: • Subscribe to this journal and receive print and electronic issues.
• Activate your existing subscription so that we recognize your IP number ranges.

| Book Review | The Journal of American History, 88.1 | The History Cooperative

Book Review

Mexican Coal Mining Labor in Texas and Coahuila, 1880–1930. By Roberto R. Calderón. (College Station: Texas A&M University Press, 2000. xx, 294 pp. $39.95, ISBN 0-89096-884-5.)

Attracted by the title, a reader would begin Professor Roberto R. Calderón's book either to learn about western workers' behavior or perhaps in search of regional, occupational, or ethnic data. Calderón's book presents much useful data but relatively little fresh analytical perspective about western workers. The book is generally well written. The author offers fecund suggestions for further research. He provides a good discussion of what his title proclaims, but only that and no more. 1

Calderón explains how borderland and near-border Mexican coal mining workers created their own culture of hard work and activism. He makes the conventional effort to emphasize activism and success and avoids dwelling upon "victimization," but his story seethes with anger about the familiar manipulative employers and the "lazy Mexican" stereotypes promoted by Victor S. Clark's turn-of-the-century labor study, its brethren, and its progeny. Those do suggest victimization. . . .

There are about 394 more words in this article. Please log in (or, if you are not yet an authorized user, please go to the User Setup page) to gain full access rights. Or if you're already logged in register your subscription.