Out of This Furnace by Thomas Bell, David P. Demarest (Afterword)
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Textbook (Paperback - 1)
- 432pp
- Sales Rank: 37,827
Textbook Information
- ISBN-13: 9780822952732
- Edition Description: 1
- Edition Number: 1
- Pub. Date: October 1976
- Publisher: University of Pittsburgh Press
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Product Details
- Pub. Date: October 1976
- Publisher: University of Pittsburgh Press
- Format: Textbook Paperback, 432pp
- Sales Rank: 37,827
- Series: Pitt Paperback Series
- ISBN-13: 9780822952732
- ISBN: 0822952734
- Edition Number: 1
- Edition Description: 1
Synopsis
Out of This Furnace is Thomas Bell’s most compelling achievement. Its story of three generations of an immigrant Slovak family -- the Dobrejcaks -- still stands as a fresh and extraordinary accomplishment.
The novel begins in the mid-1880s with the naive blundering career of Djuro Kracha. It tracks his arrival from the old country as he walked from New York to White Haven, his later migration to the steel mills of Braddock, and his eventual downfall through foolish financial speculations and an extramarital affair. The second generation is represented by Kracha’s daughter, Mary, who married Mike Dobrejcak, a steel worker. Their decent lives, made desperate by the inhuman working conditions of the mills, were held together by the warm bonds of their family life, and Mike’s political idealism set example for the children. Dobie Dobrejcak, the third generation, came of age in the 1920s determined not to be sacrificed to the mills. His involvement in the successful unionization of the steel industry climaxed a half-century struggle to establish economic justice for the workers.
Out of This Furnace is a document of ethnic heritage and of a violent and cruel period in our history, but it is also a superb story. The writing is strong and forthright, and the novel builds constantly to its triumphantly human conclusion.
Booknews
Reprint of the novel originally published in 1941 by Little, Brown, and OP since the Liberty Book Club edition of 1950. Acidic paper. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
Customer Reviews
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Genuine, Raw Account of Immigrant Life in Americaby Anonymous
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July 08, 2006: Like many other reviewers, I was required to read this book for a history class I attended. I was really wary of reading this particular book at first, as most of my professors had a tendency of doling out lengthy, technical biographies or novels with hard to grasp plot-lines. What I liked most about this novel was the genuine feel to it, as though I was hearing this story from the actual characters in the book. I enjoyed the sharp tales of poverty and horrifying conditions of the mills--it was something I had not honestly been exposed to in such detail before. In my opinion, this is the best book for one to understand what it was like for an immigrant coming to America, looking for a better life, hands down.
Wow, I didn't expect this!by Anonymous
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May 19, 2004: I read this book for my history class. As a history major, I love it when my professors assign books that their students will love. From the moment I started the book until the very end, I was so amazed and yet, appalled at the same time. It took this book for me to realize how hard it is to come from another country to America and make it. I thought this book showed the beginnings of the Progressive Reform Movement at its finest. Thank you for writing such a great book!! :)
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