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Rising From The Rails
Pullman Porters And The Making Of The Black Middle Class
by Larry Tye


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An engaging social history that reveals the critical role Pullman porters played in the struggle for African American civil rights. [Henry Holt and Co.]

Henry Holt and Co., 336 pages
07/06/2004
$26.00

ISBN: 0805070753

Nonfiction
History
Social Sciences

All reviews are classified as one of five grades: Outstanding (4 points), Favorable (3), Mixed (2), Unfavorable (1) and Terrible (0). To calculate the Metascore, we divide total points achieved by the total points possible (i.e., 4 x the number of reviews), with the resulting percentage (multiplied by 100) being the Metascore. Learn more...

Kirkus Reviews

They may have been invisible men to their patrons, but Tye makes the case for the porters as revolutionary elements within black society.

Publishers Weekly

Entertaining detail abounds.

Booklist Vernon Ford

Although Tye focuses on Pullman porters and the formation of the black middle class, his analysis of class perceptions and race relations reverberates to the current day. [1 June 2004, p.1680]

San Francisco Chronicle Henry Holt

What is unique to Tye's lively and original account -- and new to the subject -- is a portrayal of a special continuum linking the most influential African Americans today to the Pullman porters, leaving us to ponder the significance of small breaks, giant leaps, and these individuals who made such a difference.

The New York Times Book Review A'Lelia Bundles

In the end, Tye's anecdotal evidence, captivating as it may be, is less than sufficient to deliver fully on his subtitle's promise.

Washington Post Nick Salvatore

Imposed upon the narrative, however, is a narrowly constructed, misleading analysis...Tye's more specific historical analysis is also questionable.

Chicago Tribune Leon Fink

Tye fails to offer a convincing case that the jobs or organization of the porters germinated the black middle class. For a thesis built into the book's title--but elaborated more in the introduction and conclusion than in the body of the text--he offers little more than a string of names and anecdotes. [22 Aug 2004, p.C1]

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Rising From The Rails Pullman Porters And The Making Of The Black Middle Class by Larry Tye

Rising From The Rails
Pullman Porters And The Making Of The Black Middle Class
by Larry Tye