| Book Review | The Journal of American History, 91.1

You have not been recognized as a subscriber to JAH online. About 176 words from this article are provided below; about 404 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, 91.1 | The History Cooperative

Book Review

Behind the Backlash: White Working-Class Politics in Baltimore, 1940–1980. By Kenneth D. Durr. (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2003. xiv, 284 pp. Cloth, $55.00, ISBN 0-8078-2764-9. Paper, $19.95, ISBN 0-8078-5433-6.)

In recent years, Kenneth D. Durr argues, labor historians have largely "given up" (p. 2) on the white working class, now known for its racism, parochialism, and conservatism. But seeing white workers' populist arguments as little more than "code words for race-based resentments" (ibid.) fundamentally misreads the motivations behind white backlash during and after the 1960s, he contends. In his self-consciously—and refreshingly—"old-fashioned" (ibid.) study, Durr offers a sympathetic and engaging account of the white working class of Baltimore, an industrial city whose racial practices reflected those of the segregationist South. In addressing the complexities of white workers' politics and world views, Durr effectively critiques reductionist analyses that consider race as the only operative variable and demonstrates the value of treating historical agents—even those "whose political views were not always laudable" (p. 4)—with a modicum of respect.

. . .

There are about 404 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.