Behemoth: A History of the Factory and the Making of the Modern World

Joshua B. Freeman

Feb 2018 · W. W. Norton & Company

About this ebook

"Freeman’s rich and ambitious Behemoth depicts a world in retreat that still looms large in the national imagination.…More than an economic history, or a chronicle of architectural feats and labor movements." —Jennifer Szalai, New York Times

In an accessible and timely work of scholarship, celebrated historian Joshua B. Freeman tells the story of the factory and examines how it has reflected both our dreams and our nightmares of industrialization and social change. He whisks readers from the early textile mills that powered the Industrial Revolution to the factory towns of New England to today’s behemoths making sneakers, toys, and cellphones in China and Vietnam. Behemoth offers a piercing perspective on how factories have shaped our societies and the challenges we face now.

Ratings and reviews

This is a pretty heavy read. But it's an important work for our time. The through story of labor organization's ebbs and flows is valuable knowledge for any working person. And personally, I really dig the uplifting conclusion.

About the author

Joshua B. Freeman is a Distinguished Professor of History at Queens College and the Graduate Center of CUNY. His previous books include American Empire and Working-Class New York, among others. He lives in New York City.