Joe Hill by Gibbs M Smith

Joe Hill by Gibbs M Smith

The definitive study of Joe Hill, American labor martyr, proletarian fold hero, and song writer.

"Joe Hill became symbolic of the kind of individual sacrifice that would make a revolutionary new society possible. Thus labor radicals, communists, and novelists and playwrights such as John Dos Passos, Wallace Stegner, and Barrie Stavis used the circumstances of Hill's convictions and manner of his death to create a legend that transformed 'just another forgotten migrant worker' into 'The Man Who Never Died," as the song which Paul Robeson enthralled audiences in the 1930s and 1940s had it . . . Gibbs Smith has served us well be recapturing the memory of a man whose songs, to quote another wobbly, evoked the spirit of radicals who were the 'very epitome of guts and gallantry,' a handful of homeless heroes touched by true romance. Men and women whose spirits were stirred far above their belly-need; men and women inspired by visions of heaven on earth. Now, as then, society needs such men and women." --Melvyn Dubofsky, The New York Times Book Review

Smith, Gibbs: - Gibbs M. Smith always wanted to be a history professor. But while in pursuit of his master's degree, Smith wrote a dissertation on Joe Hill-American labor martyr, proletarian folk hero, and songwriter-that profoundly changed his life. After the book was published by the University of Utah press and made into a movie, Gibbs started entertaining the idea of starting his own publishing company. While riding a cable car in San Francisco and contemplating this venture, he wrote Alfred Knopf a letter. In my view, he was the greatest publisher in America, reflects Smith. Knopf wrote back with words of encouragement; later they spoke over the phone. Gibbs now had the inspiration needed to embark upon this extraordinary entrepreneurial adventure. In 1969, Gibbs and his wife, Catherine, started the company known today as Gibbs Smith, Publisher. With $12,000 in cash earned from the Smiths' work on the movie Joe Hill, the company published four initial books, which would be used as supplementary texts in college history classes. The first few years were tough, as Gibbs and his wife, Cathy, ran the company out of their studio apartment in Santa Barbara.

In 1973, the company relocated to Utah, where Gibbs and Cathy reinvested profits back into the business and lived on savings. They spent the first summer there converting an old barn (built in 1916) on the family farm into offices. It was a race against time, as the barn had no roof and winter was rapidly approaching. During that summer they also managed to publish a new textbook, Utah's Heritage. This proved to be a very wise decision, as the company's textbook division provided financial stability during the early years.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9780879051549
ISBN 10	087905154X
Title	Joe Hill
Author	Gibbs Smith
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Paperback
Publisher	Gibbs M. Smith Inc
Year published	1984-02-01
Number of pages	304
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.