Richard L. Wentworth Prize in American History, 2000."A welcome contribution to the literature on southern working-class culture. Concentrating on the informal structures of textile workers' lives in Spartanburg County, South Carolina, in the 1930s, G. C. Waldrep III seeks a language for the 'private transcript' of their history. He employs such official documentation as newspapers, government records, and union archives but relies most heavily on workers' oral histories."--John Hennen, American Historical Review "Using company records, federal and state reports, newspapers, and a rich collection of oral histories, Waldrep gives readers insight into a significant aspect of southern cultures and economic development."--Choice "One of the book's strengths is its use of oral history. . . . Another is [Waldrep's] use of the workers' letters to President Franklin D. Roosevelt. In this, he brings the anguish of a number of heretofore invisible individuals to light."--R. Phillip Stone, Journal of Southern History