Cold Millions by Jess Walter **** (of 4)

Jess Walter supplies a fine amalgamation of fiction and history, melding historical figures, most notably Elizabeth Gurley Flynn, a fiery rebel who fought for the rights of working class men and women (and founding member of the ACLU) with a pair of fictitious Irish brothers searching for work in Spokane, Washington at the start of the 20th century. Lumber and mining barons are bulldozing the earth, earning and spending millions of dollars. Hobos, tramps, Native Americans are hired and fired at will, surviving on pennies a day, eating pilfered chickens, living in unwashed clothes, and sleeping in flophouses or open fields.

Organized labor has taken its battle from wars in mining and timber camps across the west and heads to Spokane for a standoff with heartless employers. The Wobblies (I.W.W.) are enjoined by anarchists, communists, and socialists, but have their heads cracked by police, vigilantes, Pinkertons, and infiltrators hired by politicians and executives intent upon saving order and profits. Outgunned, workers are arrested by the hundreds on charges of violating free speech laws. The older Irish brother, Gig, serves time, and the wide-eyed-16-year-old brother, Rye, is desperate to find a way to restore what is left of his family. Enter Lem Brand, a Bezos-sized company man (fictitious) and Gurley Flynn who vie for Rye's allegiance.

Lest the parallels of The Cold Millions era and the nationwide protests (and crackdowns) following the murder of George Floyd be missed, the book's epilogue takes place in 1964 during the Civil Rights protests. Hop, skip, and jump implies Walter from incarcerated workers in 1908 to non-violent protesters in 1964 to today.