Synopses & Reviews
"A lively and engaging chronicle that adds yet another dimension to the historical record." -The Boston GlobeWhen George Pullman began recruiting Southern blacks as porters in his luxurious new sleeping cars, the former slaves suffering under Jim Crow laws found his offer of a steady job and worldly experience irresistable. They quickly signed up to serve as maid, waiter, concierge, nanny, and occasionally doctor and undertaker to cars full of white passengers, making the Pullman Company the largest employer of African Americans in the country by the 1920s.
Drawing on extensive interviews with dozens of porters and their descendants, Larry Tye reconstructs the complicated world of the Pullman porter and the vital cultural, political, and economic roles they played as forerunners of the modern black middle class. Rising from the Rails provides a lively and enlightening look at this important social phenomenon.
Larry Tye was a longtime reporter for The Boston Globe, where he won numerous awards. He now directs a Boston-based training program for medical journalists. A former Nieman Fellow at Harvard University, Tye is also the author of The Father of Spin and Home Lands. A Chicago Tribune Best Book
From the 1860s, when George Pullman first hired African-Americans to work on his luxury sleeping cars, until the mid-twentieth century, when the Pullman Company ended its sleeper service, the Pullman porter held one of the best jobs in the black community and one of the worst on the train. He was maid and valet, nanny and doctor, concierge and occasional undertaker to cars full of white passengers. His very presence embodied the romance of the railroad. But behind the porter's ever-present smile lay a daily struggle for dignity on the long trips that separated him from his family while exposing him to the more privileged culture of well-heeled riders. Rising from the Rails depicts the paradox of life as a Pullman porter and provides us with a missing chapter of American history.
Larry Tye vividly re-creates the singular setting of a Pullman sleeping car, a capsule of space and time where all the rules of racial engagement came into focus and many were suspendedso long as the train was moving. The dichotomy of the porter's working lifeduties not far removed from slavery, opportunities not available to other black workers in Jim Crow Americamade him both a representative of his time and a trailblazer. The period of the porter's employment by the Pullman Company coincides almost exactly with the struggle of newly freed slaves for the full legal freedoms finally achieved in the 1960s, and his largely unrecognized role in this struggle was critical. As the patriarch of black labor unions and the civil rights movement, he was among the first African-Americans to effectively claim a right to respect. He was also the father and grandfather of the African-Americans who today run cities and states, sit on corporate and editorial boards, and number among this country's leading professors, scientists, and clergy.
Drawing on extensive interviews with dozens of African-American railroad workers and their descendants, Rising from the Rails tells the quintessentially American story of how a minority finds a foothold in the workplaceand in the nation's psyche. "Rescuing an icon from the edge of oblivion is no easy task; making room for him in the collective memory is harder still. But revealing his profound influence on our social and cultural institutions today requires insight and imagination. Larry Tye has both."San Francisco Chronicle "This is well-researched and sympathetic history, a slice of Americana worth knowing."The Seattle Times
"A valuable window into a long-underreported dimension of African-American history."Newsday
"Rescuing an icon from the edge of oblivion is no easy task; making room for him in the collective memory is harder still. But revealing his profound influence on our social and cultural institutions today requires insight and imagination. Larry Tye has both."San Francisco Chronicle
"Drawing upon extensive and meticulous researchas well as in-depth interviews with 40 or so former porters and their families[Tye] depicts the absorbing saga of the Pullman porter, a story firmly rooted in the dynamic growth of the American railroad in the years following the Civil War . . . Tye makes a compelling case for the intricate connections between the porters' struggles for economic justice and the quickening pace of the civil rights movement in the 20th centuryfrom the formation of the National Negro Congress in the mid-1930s, to Randolph's threatened 1941 march on Washington, to the 1963 march on Washington and beyond. Throughout, Tye sustains our interest, weaving together several levels of narrative while keeping the stories of ordinary porters squarely at the center. The result is a lively and engaging chronicle that adds yet another dimension to the historical record."James A. Miller, The Boston Globe
"Larry Tye has written a much-deserved love song to the forgotten men of the civil rights and labor movementsthe Pullman porters who defeated a major corporation, helped finance numerous civil rights battles, spread news and culture nationwide, and set a high standard for dignity."Julian Bond, chairman, NAACP Board of Directors
"This is one terrific book. It's a chapter of American history about which few of us know much, and it's a reminder of what life was life for African-Americans in this country, at least until the last few decades. But it's mostly about these mentheir courage, their tenacity, and their hopes and dreams for their children and grandchildren. Many of them are no longer with us, but they should and would be rightly proud of how much their kids and grandkids have achieved and how much they have given to this country."Michael Dukakis, former governor of Massachusetts, former vice-chair of Amtrak Board
"A reasoned assessment of the Pullman porters' role in black America. The Pullman porter's life, reporter/biographer Tye suggests, was 'a capsule of space and time where all the rules of racial engagement came into succinct and, at times, painful focus.' He goes on to document the nearly limitless humiliation porters underwent every dayso much so, he writes, that they learned to don a mask at work that could be removed when their shift was done, to maintain their dignity by assuming a countenance that was not their own. Exposed to virulent racism in 'one of the most thoroughly segregated workplaces in America,' they became critical sparks in the civil-rights movement. On the other hand, porters led a more cosmopolitan and (relatively) privileged life than most African-Americans, especially during the early years of the Pullman coach. They drew salaries and they traveled, garnering news and ideas from the four corners of the country, serving as agents of change within their communities as they brought home everything from jazz to seditious ideas. Their union, the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, was a unique and powerful institution . . . Tye makes the case for the porters as revolutionary elements within black society."Kirkus Reviews
Review
“This book brings to life the stirring story of the civil rights legacy of A. Phillip Randolph and the Pullman porters, which is an inspiration to those of us following in their footsteps. Kudos to Larry Tye for giving us this wonderfully readable, and incredibly important, history.”
--Congressman Jesse L. Jackson, Jr.
“Larry Tye has written a much-deserved love song to the forgotten men of the civil rights and labor movements - the Pullman Porters who defeated a major corporation, helped finance numerous civil rights battles, spread news and culture nation-wide, and set a high standard for dignity.” -Julian Bond, Chairman, NAACP Board of Directors
“This is one terrific book. It's a chapter of American history about which few of us know much, and it's a reminder of what life was like for African-Americans in this country, at least until the last few decades. But it's mostly about these men-- their courage, their tenacity and their hopes and dreams for their children and grandchildren. Many of them are no longer with us, but they should and would be rightly proud of how much their kids and grandkids have achieved and how much they have given to this country.” -Michael Dukakis, Former governor of Massachusetts, former vice-chair of Amtrak board
"This book does a magnificent job in relating how a relatively small group of struggling workers shaped not only the African-American community but all of the United States. The story of the Pullman porter is no less important than any other struggle for civil rights in the American labor movement." -James P. Hoffa, General President, International Brotherhood of Teamsters
“Larry Tye's Rising from the Rails recreates an important chapter in the history of black people in this country: the hard earned passage of thousands of blacks into the middle class. By examining the progress of the Pullman porter - from the step and fetch it caricature to pensioned union member - Tye captures one of black people's many struggles to achieve equality. This is la story all Americans should know.” -Vernon E. Jordan, Jr., Senior Managing Director at Lazard LLC and author of Vernon Can Read!: A Memoir
"Rising from the Rails chronicles the pioneering role the Pullman porters and their leader, A. Philip Randolph, played in building America's union movement. This vividly told story should be required reading for those who care about labor history, race history, and US history." -John J. Sweeney, President, AFL-CIO
"This is a well-researched and sympathetic history, a slice of Americana worth knowing."
--Seattle Times
"Rescuing an icon from the edge of oblivion is no easy task; making room for him in the collective memory is harder still. But revealing his profound influence on our social and cultural institutions today requires insight and imagination. Larry Tye has both."
--The San Francisco Chronicle
"[Tye's] analysis of class perceptions and race relations reverberates to the current day."
--Booklist
"[A] highly readable business history at one end and labor history at the other... entertaining detail abounds... So does informing detail."
--Publisher's Weekly
"Tye's work is worth the ride for its comprehensive survey of a topic that deserves much attention."
--Library Journal
Synopsis
"A lively and engaging chronicle that adds yet another dimension to the historical record."-The Boston GlobeWhen George Pullman began recruiting Southern blacks as porters in his luxurious new sleeping cars, the former slaves suffering under Jim Crow laws found his offer of a steady job and worldly experience irresistable. They quickly signed up to serve as maid, waiter, concierge, nanny, and occasionally doctor and undertaker to cars full of white passengers, making the Pullman Company the largest employer of African Americans in the country by the 1920s.
Drawing on extensive interviews with dozens of porters and their descendants, Larry Tye reconstructs the complicated world of the Pullman porter and the vital cultural, political, and economic roles they played as forerunners of the modern black middle class. Rising from the Rails provides a lively and enlightening look at this important social phenomenon.
Synopsis
"A valuable window into a long-underreported dimension of African American history."--Newsday
When George Pullman began recruiting Southern blacks as porters in his luxurious new sleeping cars, the former slaves suffering under Jim Crow laws found his offer of a steady job and worldly experience irresistible. They quickly signed up to serve as maid, waiter, concierge, nanny, and occasionally doctor and undertaker to cars full of white passengers, making the Pullman Company the largest employer of African Americans in the country by the 1920s.
Drawing on extensive interviews with dozens of porters and their descendants, Larry Tye reconstructs the complicated world of the Pullman porter and the vital cultural, political, and economic roles they played as forerunners of the modern black middle class. Rising from the Rails provides a lively and enlightening look at this important social phenomenon.
- Named a Recommended Book by The Boston Globe, San Francisco Chronicle, and The Seattle Times
Synopsis
A valuable window into a long-underreported dimension of African American history.--Newsday
An engaging social history that reveals the critical role Pullman porters played in the struggle for African American civil rights
When George Pullman began recruiting Southern blacks as porters in his luxurious new sleeping cars, the former slaves suffering under Jim Crow laws found his offer of a steady job and worldly experience irresistible. They quickly signed up to serve as maid, waiter, concierge, nanny, and occasionally doctor and undertaker to cars full of white passengers, making the Pullman Company the largest employer of African American men in the country by the 1920s.
In the world of the Pullman sleeping car, where whites and blacks lived in close proximity, porters developed a unique culture marked by idiosyncratic language, railroad lore, and shared experience. They called difficult passengers Mister Charlie; exchanged stories about Daddy Jim, the legendary first Pullman porter; and learned to distinguish generous tippers such as Humphrey Bogart from skinflints like Babe Ruth. At the same time, they played important social, political, and economic roles, carrying jazz and blues to outlying areas, forming America's first black trade union, and acting as forerunners of the modern black middle class by virtue of their social position and income.
Drawing on extensive interviews with dozens of porters and their descendants, Larry Tye reconstructs the complicated world of the Pullman porter and the vital cultural, political, and economic roles they played as forerunners of the modern black middle class. Rising from the Rails provides a lively and enlightening look at this important social phenomenon.
- Named a Recommended Book by The Boston Globe, San Francisco Chronicle, and The Seattle Times
About the Author
A longtime journalist for
The Boston Globe,
Larry Tye has won numerous awards for his work. A former Nieman Fellow at Harvard University, he is the author of
The Father of Spin (0-8050-6789-2) and
Home Lands (0-8050-6591-1). He lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts.