Liberty's Dawn
Book description
This remarkable book looks at hundreds of autobiographies penned between 1760 and 1900 to offer an intimate firsthand account of how the Industrial Revolution was experienced by the working class. The Industrial Revolution brought not simply misery and poverty. On the contrary, Griffin shows how it raised incomes, improved literacy,…
Why read it?
1 author picked Liberty's Dawn as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?
At one point in her excellent study, the author writes, “Generations of historians have painted the industrial revolution in relentlessly dark colours: a force which was wholly destructive for the poor, remorseless, unforgiving in its grinding down of the independent labourer of old. This, clearly, is not the assessment of those who lived through it.” The basis of her claim is a survey of over three hundred autobiographies written by English laborers of the time. Though she expected her readers to be surprised, since workers are famously supposed to be the leading rebels against the onset of “capitalism,” those who…
From Henry's list on understanding where “capitalism” came from.
Want books like Liberty's Dawn?
Our community of 12,000+ authors has personally recommended 100 books like Liberty's Dawn.
Share your top 3 reads of 2024!
And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.
1,224
readers submitted
so far, will you?
