In this collection of essays, leading US and European historians utilise a comparative approach in an attempt to tease out the particular constellation of factors affecting working class formation and politics in the United States. Several pieces explore the resurgence of exceptionalist writing in recent years, and consider the ideological dimension of this tradition. Others reflect upon the considerable power of liberal politics to subsume working class initiatives.

The heavily Catholic composition of the US working class, and the role played by racial and ethnic divisions in restricting a vision of solidarity are also explored from a number of angles. Challenging particularist and nation-centred modes of explanation, these essays reinvigorate a tired debate.