Chaim M. Rosenberg

Short but sobering book that makes me feel very sympathetic for the bootblacks, factory workers, cranberry pickers, scavengers and the other much-too-young laborers in these vintage pictures. One minor flaw is that some of the captions duplicate text either from the chapter introductions or previous photos. It's more than offset, however, by the insights into the children's working conditions and the general picture of the industries that used to be so important in the Boston area.

During much of America's history, children were employed as workers in factories, mines and sweatshops, on farms, etc. They worked punishing hours in horrendous conditions for scant pay. In part, America's great industrial growth in the late 19th and early 20th Centuries was built on the backs of child laborers, some as young as five years old. Rosenberg's book describes the growth of child labor during those years, detailing the work children did in the various industries. He also show more chronicles the individuals and organizations who fought to end this evil. CHILD LABOR IN AMERICA is an informative if often saddening look at the cost American children paid for the nation's economic progress.

Mike O. / Marathon County Public Library
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