The Port of Missing Men

Zusatztext

<p>In the early twentieth century so many dead bodies surfaced in the rivers around Aberdeen, Washington, that they were nicknamed the floater fleet. When Billy Gohl (18731927), a powerful union official, was arrested for murder, local newspapers were quick to suggest that he was responsible for many of those deaths, perhaps even dozensthus launching the legend of the Ghoul of Grays Harbor.</p><p>More than a true-crime tale,<i>The Port of Missing Men</i> sheds light on the lives of workers who died tragically, illuminating the dehumanizing treatment of sailors and lumber workers and the heated clashes between pro- and anti-union forces. Goings investigates the creation of the myth, exploring how so many people were willing to believe such extraordinary stories about Gohl. He shares the story of a charismatic labor leaderthe one man who could shut down the highly profitable Grays Harbor lumber tradeand provides an equally intriguing analysis of the human costs of the Pacific Northwests early extraction economy.</p>

Autorenportrait

<p>Aaron Goings is associate professor of history and chair of the History and Political Science Department at Saint Martins University. He is coauthor of<i>The Red Coast: Radicalism and Anti-radicalism in Southwest Washington</i> and<i>Community in Conflict: A Working-Class History of the 191314 Michigan Copper Strike and the Italian Hall Tragedy</i>.</p>

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