A Historian Reads: Out of the Jungle

When you hear the name Jimmy Hoffa what comes to mind? Probably that recent news alert when they thought they found his body under some concrete? The mob most likely? His disappearance under “suspicious circumstance”? Of course you do. It is very hard to separate Jimmy Hoffa from the Boston mob history of the late twentieth century. But is that all there is to the man? From a historians point of view, absolutely not. Jimmy Hoffa is representative of an internal fight among labor unions in the twentieth century. As leader of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Hoffa’s legacy is much more important that his acquaintance with the mob. In “Out of the Jungle,” historian Thaddeus Russell tells the story of the Teamsters as seen through the life of Jimmy Hoffa.

We have previously reviewed a book by Thaddeus Russell on general American history, however this is Dr. Russell’s specialty and it shows in this academically published book. The tone is much different and his sarcastic wit is much more subdued. However, it is well researched and acclaimed by other historians for being a novel addition to the field of labor studies.  The concept of using a singular person to explore the history of a movement or subject is not new but is applied masterfully in this book. Hoffa grew up within the Teamsters organization and by following his leadership and conflicts with other labor leaders, Russell weaves a fascinating tale about labor disputes among unions and the government.

Russell argues that Hoffa made his way up the leadership of the Teamsters due to his “practical and pragmatic” style. Instead of using ideology and idealism, Hoffa gave substantial wins to his supporters . Hoffa was not a philosopher or social leader, rather he was a working class man who fought (negotiation wise and physically) for a part of the economic pie everyone else was enjoying. He did not align himself with other labor leaders who were interested in remaking society and as a consequence could only offer their follows promises and hope. His associations with the mob and crooked politicians make sense when seen through the lens of his pragmatic strategy. Unfortunately, it would be those same alliances that had helped his cause that would land him in jail and then on a missing poster.  

As I said earlier, this book is written for an academic audience and for that reason the humor and sardonic jabs that littered his most recent book are gone. This is not to say it is a dry read, but the tone stays serious for the duration of the book with small moments of Russell’s sense of humor. I recommend this book but I want to stress this book’s intended audience. Russell discuses historiography and methodology as should any historian but this may be a turn of for some mainstream readers. These sections of the book are slow to read and seem inconsequential for people interested in getting right to the history of Jimmy Hoffa. However, I highly recommend spending time reading those sections and enjoying the book as a whole. It is a fascinating read for those interested in labor history and for those of us, like me, who are relatively uneducated in labor history. More importantly, it will help you develop a much better response for the question, “what do you know about Jimmy Hoffa?”