For nine hundred generations, the city of Deepgate has hung suspended by giant chains over a seemingly bottomless abyss. In the darkness below is said to reside the dread god Ulcis, 'hoarder of souls', with his army of ghosts. At the hub of the city itself rises the Temple, in one of whose many crumbling spires resides a youthful angel, Dill.

These specially commissioned essays by labor historians of international repute provide a complete survey of the global trajectory of labor history. Authoritative and well-researched, these essays consider the early labor history traditions as well as the new conceptions of class, gender, ethnicity, culture, community, and power. The contributors analyze key debates, question dominant paradigms, acknowledge minority critiques, and consider future directions. This book will be of interest to historians of working-class political parties and organizations, to students of trade unions and industrial conflict, and to social scientists interested in social and political protest.