Popek is a newspaper editor who moonlights as a bookstore clerk and freelance writer. She received a bachelor’s degree in American studies from Bennington College and worked more than 25 different jobs over a 10-year period. She lives in upstate New York with her husband.
Features
Friday, July 10 2009
We Are United in Our Digital Isolation
The paradox of the new media is that for each face-to-face interaction we sacrifice, we open up the possibility of connecting with thousands of like-minded people.
Friday, January 30 2009
Killing for Coal: An Interview with Thomas G. Andrews
Andrews' book distinguishes itself from conventional labor histories by going beyond sociological factors to look at the total physical environment and the role it played in the lives of both labor and management, and how it would lead to the Ludlow Massacre of 1914.
Reviews
Thursday, October 1 2009
Counter Culture: The American Coffee Shop Waitress by Candacy A. Taylor
Taylor's lavishly illustrated paean to these longtime waitresses, or 'lifers', gives these unsung heroines of Americana the respect they so richly deserve.
Thursday, July 23 2009
The Food of a Younger Land by Mark Kurlansky
This vast project put hundreds of writers to work penning poems, describing barbecues, interviewing American Indians and taking down recipes for everything from soup to nuts, quite literally.
Tuesday, June 9 2009
Agitate! Educate! Organize! by Lincoln Cushing, Timothy W. Drescher
Vivid, striking, colorful, arresting and at times even shocking, these posters speak loudly with voices of sorrow, righteousness, defiance and humor.
Thursday, May 21 2009
The Lonely American by Jacqueline Olds & Richard S. Schwartz
Simple acts -- picking up the phone, sending a Christmas card -- can have profound consequences, not only for ourselves, but for our friends and family.
Wednesday, May 6 2009
Nice Work If You Can Get It by Andrew Ross
Ross' prescriptions for the future job market may seem difficult to achieve, but he argues convincingly that we must strive for these goals if we are to have any hope of humane, stable and equitable livelihoods in the future.
