Shell Games: The Life and Times of Pearl McGill, Industrial Spy and Pioneer Labor Activist

by Jeffrey Copeland

Overview

Set against a backdrop of murder, intrigue, and industrial labor conflict in the early twentieth century pearl button industry, Shell Games graphically portrays one of the most important battles in the fight for safe and humane working conditions. Filtered through the thoughts and emotions of Pearl McGill, a woman who stood heroically against the injustices destroying the lives of so many around her in the shops and factories, this conflict vividly comes to life and underscores many of the concerns contemporary workers still encounter.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940013955806
Publisher:	Paragon House Publishers
Publication date:	02/18/2012
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	4 MB

About the Author

Jeffrey Copeland is Professor and Head of the Department of Languages and Literatures at the University of Northern Iowa, where he teaches children's and young adult literature courses and English Education. He has authored and edited numerous books, including Speaking of Poets and Young Adult Literature: A Contemporary Reader and, most recently, Inman’s War: A Soldier’s Story of Life in a Colored Battalion in WWII and Olivia's Story: The Conspiracy of Heroes behind Shelley v. Kraemer. A native St. Louisan, he lives in Cedar Falls, Iowa.

Editorial Reviews

Shell Games is a history of American labor through the eyes of the brave and personable heroine Pearl McGill. This is a story of friendship, romance, family, and community conflict, the story of an all-American girl thrust into a high stakes political mystery. Shell Games is history at its most lively and dynamic.

Miami University, Ohio - Kate Rousmaniere

“The story of Pearl McGill's rise as an unlikely teen heroine for America's early 20th Century labor struggle is one of courage and passion. Through meticulous research, Jeffrey Copeland paints a vivid and accurate picture of what is arguably one of the most defining periods of Muscatine's storied pearl button industry, a microcosm of the world of American industry of the era.”

Muscatine History and Industry Center - Kristin McHugh-Johnston