Patricia A. Cooper is an associate professor of gender and women's studies at the University of Kentucky.

"In her admirably researched Once a Cigarmaker, Patricia Cooper weaves a fascinating tale about the three-way relationship that developed between new technology in the cigarmaking industry, and its impact on both the older generation of skilled, male cigarmakers, and on the unskilled immigrant women who replaced them as the major labor force in the trade after the First World War. . . . [This book pushes] back the boundaries of our knowledge at the interface between institutional labor history, cultural analysis, and the social history of work in a fresh and original way."--Reviews in American History "Among the best studies we have to date of shop-floor work traditions for both men and women. It is a powerful analysis of work, gender, and the union movement that insightfully moves us beyond simplifications about craft union elitism and sexism."--Journal of Social History"Subtle, incisive, and original, Once a Cigarmaker has broken new ground at the intersection of business, labor, and women's history."--Business History Review "This fine study, spiced with humor rare in social history, provides a provocative argument and good reading."--Oral History Review