The Story of Work: A New History of Humankind

Lucassen, Jan

ISBN 10: 0300256795 / ISBN 13: 9780300256796

Published by Yale University Press, 2021

About this Item

First Edition, First Printing. Published by Yale University Press, 2021. Octavo. Book is like new. Dust jacket is like new, small nick on top corner of front panel. 100% positive feedback. 30 day money back guarantee. NEXT DAY SHIPPING! Excellent customer service. Please email with any questions or if you would like a photo. All books packed carefully and ship with free delivery confirmation/tracking. All books come with free bookmarks. Ships from Sag Harbor, New York.

Seller Inventory # 181579

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The Story of Work: A New History of Humankind
• Publisher: Yale University Press
• Publication Date: 2021
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0300256795
• ISBN 13: 9780300256796
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition: First Edition.
• Condition: Like New
• Dust Jacket Condition: Like New
• Seller catalogs:
  • History

About this title

Synopsis

The first truly global history of work, an upbeat assessment from the age of the hunter-gatherer to the present day
 
“Beginning in the hunting-and-gathering past, this long view of work shows how little has changed over millennia. Progressing through the rise of cities, wages and markets for labour, it traces a perennial cycle of injustice and resistance—and the age-old desire for more.”—The Economist, “Best Books of 2021”
 
“Absolutely fascinating. . . . Lucassen’s own compassion shines through this magisterial book.”—Christina Patterson, The Guardian
 
We work because we have to, but also because we like it: from hunting-gathering more than 700,000 years ago to the present era of zoom meetings, humans have always worked to make the world around them serve their needs.
 
Jan Lucassen provides an inclusive history of humanity’s busy labor throughout the ages. Spanning China, India, Africa, the Americas, and Europe, Lucassen looks at the ways in which humanity organizes work: in the household, the tribe, the city, and the state. He examines how labor is split between men, women, and children; the watershed moment of the invention of money; the collective action of workers; and the impact of migration, slavery, and the idea of leisure.
 
From peasant farmers in the first agrarian societies to the precarious existence of today’s gig workers, this surprising account of both cooperation and subordination at work throws essential light on the opportunities we face today.

About the Author

Jan Lucassen is an honorary fellow at the the International Institute of Social History in Amsterdam where he founded the IISH Research Department. He is the coeditor of Globalising Migration History: The Eurasian Experience and the editor of Global Labour History.