Search results for ""author david rolf""

As the Afrika Korps withdrew after a bruising defeat at El Alamein, it became apparent that Axis forces would not be able to maintain their hold over Libya. Rommel pulled his troops back to Tunisia, digging in along the Mareth Line, and turned westwards to counter the massive Anglo-American 'Torch' landings in French North Africa. A series of bitter battles in the craggy hills of Tunisia followed - including the legendary struggle for the Kasserine Pass - with the Germans displaying skills honed in two years of desert fighting, and the Allies relying on their superiority in equipment and manpower. Allied might eventually overpowered Rommel's army and, in May 1943, Axis forces surrendered. David Rolf has made use of rare and valuable source material to present the Tunisian campaign in its entirety. His emphasis is on personal accounts, and use of contemporary dialogue, takes the reader to the heart of the emotions experienced by units fighting on both sides, and adds colour to this intricate 'battle of wits' between legendary commanders. The result is a brilliant example of historical writing and a unique insight into six months of stubborn fighting.

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The fight for a higher minimum wage has become the biggest national labor story in decades. Beginning in November 2012, strikes by fast food workers spread across the country, landing in Seattle in May 2013. Within a year, Seattle had adopted a $15 minimum wage—the highest in the United States—without a bloody political battle. Combining history, economics, and commonsense political wisdom, The Fight for Fifteen makes a deeply informed case for a national $15/hour minimum wage as the only practical solution to reversing America’s decades-long slide toward becoming a low-wage nation. Drawing both on new scholarship and on his extensive practical experiences organizing workers and grappling with inequality across the United States, David Rolf, president of SEIU 775—which waged the successful Seattle campaign—offers an accessible explanation of “middle out” economics, an emerging popular economic theory that suggests that the origins of prosperity in capitalist economies lie with workers and consumers, not investors and employers. A blueprint for a different and hopeful American future, The Fight for Fifteen offers concrete tools, ideas, and inspiration for anyone interested in real change in our lifetimes.

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