Making the Empire Work

“Bender and Lipman have assembled a collection of short studies that conflate labor studies, imperial analyses, and diplomatic history to produce a challenging, insightful means of viewing such histories simultaneously. [] The innovative subjects and rigorous scholarship in this highly readable volume are accessible to general readers and scholars alike.” (Choice) “This book makes an important contribution to our understanding of the history of American imperialism, much of it from the bottom up.” (American Historical Review) “Making the Empire Work is a game changer. This spectacular volume will transform the way U.S. historians conceive, write and teach about empire. Workers were everywhere in the U.S. empire: building and serving it, shaped by and suffering from it. The work collected here gives new meaning to William Appleman Williams trenchant call for us to consider ‘empire as a way of life.’” - Nan Enstad,University of Wisconsin, Madison

Daniel E. Bender is the Canada Research Chair in Global Culture and a Professor of History at the University of Toronto. He is the author most recently of American Abyss: Savagery and Civilization in the Age of Industry.

Jana K. Lipman is Associate Professor in History at Tulane University. She is the author of Guantanamo: A Working-Class History between Empire and Revolution.