Out of This Furnace (Pitt Paperback ; 120)

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Summary: forging of labor and ethnic minorities in 19th and 20th cent
Review: From steerage passage across the Atlantic from his native Slovakia, we follow George Kracha to Braddock, Pennsylvania, and share the lives of three generations of his family in the Mon Valley. Bell's narration is direct and graceful and his characters breathe. An integral piece in the American mosaic is presented here. This book will be of especial interest to those of Central European descent or familiarity with steelworking or the Pittsburgh area, but far beyond that it is a moving statement about being human and becoming American.

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Summary: Impressive
Review: I normally read history and non-fiction type books. But this reading was simply outstanding. It was a gift from my parents to help me understand what my ancestors struggled through. I highly recommend it for anyone willing to entrust their emotions to a book. An excellent tale of human struggle and triumph.

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Summary: A history of proud people
Review: I read this book in a college class and found my own family history flying off the pages. My grandfather was a steel mill worker (before the fall) and my grandmother was a maid for a wealthy family (and named her son after their child). They wore the stories told in this book on their faces, Thomas Bell told the story that their faces were too proud to tell. My last name is Michals now, not Mihal. My father is a doctor, not a steel worker. My grandmother and grandfather are both deceased, but they got their children "OUT OF THIS FURNACE"

Rating:
Summary: A history of proud people
Review: I read this book in a college class and found my own family history flying off the pages. My grandfather was a steel mill worker (before the fall) and my grandmother was a maid for a wealthy family (and named her son after their child). They wore the stories told in this book on their faces, Thomas Bell told the story that their faces were too proud to tell. My last name is Michals now, not Mihal. My father is a doctor, not a steel worker. My grandmother and grandfather are both deceased, but they got their children "OUT OF THIS FURNACE"

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Summary: Underrepresented immigrant group
Review: Most people are familiar with the experiences in America of immigrants who were Irish, Italian, German, Polish, Russian, Swedish, and a few other groups, but you don't hear much of anything about the Slovakians who came to America. I was supposed to have read this book for a research paper my eighth grade social studies class was doing on our various immigrant ancestors, and while I got an A++ on that paper and much praise from the teacher, I abandoned the book before long. I was upset I couldn't do a paper on my more "interesting" ancestors from Germany, Italy, and Holland, instead of some group I didn't really care about, a group no one else would be doing. I recently finally read the book cover to cover and am really sorry I was so hasty in abandoning it before and how much of a brat I was about doing a paper on my ancestors. I grew misty-eyed at the parts where the mill bosses and even priests and ministers are insulting the Slovakians in nasty and slurring language, even preaching hatred and violence from the pulpit. They were treated like animals because they dared to want humane treatment and equal rights. I have always heard and used the word "Hunky" as a fond term of endearment in my family, not a harsh slur word and racial epithet. Altogether it's a very emotionally moving and real story, about how each generation improves upon the last, until finally the mills are unionised; we know the fourth generation will be just fine. The only complaint I have about the book is that it ends before Dobie and Julie have their baby; I wanted to find out if they had a boy or a girl!

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Summary: My Ancestors
Review: Out of This Furnace is an engaging story of the struggle of steel mill workers in the early 20th century. Reading this book felt like going back into time and being able to meet my great-grandparents and see what they went through to establish a better life for me and my family. Highly recommend this book.

Rating:
Summary: My Ancestors
Review: Out of This Furnace is an engaging story of the struggle of steel mill workers in the early 20th century. Reading this book felt like going back into time and being able to meet my great-grandparents and see what they went through to establish a better life for me and my family. Highly recommend this book.

Rating:
Summary: Out of this furnace
Review: This is an amazing and moving novel, especially for those of us of the same ethnic background. My family discovered this book in my grandfather's collection following his death. We all read it and were very moved by it, our grandparents taught us the traditions of the Slovaks throughout our childhood. Being Slovak and all that went with it was a source of great pride for them that they instilled in us. As I read the book I was able to walk through the streets in my mind along with the author. Never before this book did I feel such pride in my family, and how they wokred lived and suffered to give their children and grandchildren a better life. I believe this book to be a MUST READ for anyone interested in the plight of the immigrant.