Labor Department seeks most important workplace books ever

Books say a lot about our culture. If you want to know a time in history, you have to know which novels and nonfiction books shaped the era.

Toward that end, the U.S. Department of Labor has embarked on an ambitious reading list. In celebration of its 100th anniversary this year, the agency is compiling a list of the most important books about the workplace.

To mark other important milestones, the Labor Department has hosted black-tie galas. But to mark the centennial, the Labor Department wanted to do something bigger and better.

The program, which is being developed in partnership with the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress, is called "Books That Shaped Work in America." It started with 92 books, but new ones continue to be added.

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Carl Fillichio, senior adviser for public affairs and communications for the Labor Department in Washington, loves books and was in the middle of a competition with his sister on who could read the most books on the Library of Congress' list of "88 Books That Shaped America."

It's a great list, said Fillichio, who figured that the Labor Department could do something similar with the books that shaped work in America.

He started out by asking the current and former secretaries of labor for their nominations. He expanded by asking co-workers at the department, bookstore owners and authors for their suggestions.

It includes such classics as "The Jungle," the Upton Sinclair expose that drew attention to the unsanitary conditions of the meatpacking industry, and "The Wealth of Nations" by Adam Smith, the seminal book on the division of labor. Who doesn't remember the pin factory that Smith used as an example?

But it also includes children's books such as "Busy, Busy Town" by Richard Scarry, which is the way many children are introduced to the variety of jobs and responsibilities in a community.

"I was worried that super-smart people would send books that weren't super accessible," said Fillichio, referring to the scholarly, academic tomes he was expecting.

"But it warmed my heart when we got 'Leaves of Grass' (by Walt Whitman) and 'Life on the Mississippi' (by Mark Twain) from George P. Shultz," he said, referring to suggestions by the longtime politician whose roles included being secretary of labor.

Books nominated more than once included "The Jungle," "Working" by Studs Turkel and "The Grapes of Wrath" by John Steinbeck.

"How to Win Friends and Influence People" -the self-help book that started it all - is also a perennial favorite, Fillichio said. Like many books on the list, the classic by Dale Carnegie is burned into the lexicon of America. Fillichio said he recites the title when he's giving career advice, and the message is instantly understood.

Other suggestions include the 1956 classic "The Organization Man" by William Whyte, which described the shift toward group conformity, and "Principles of Scientific Management" by Frederick Winslow Taylor, the 1911 book that taught efficiency to generations of managers and is the father of the assembly line.

Fillichio said readers can track the progression of women in the workplace through the list. "Little Women" by Louisa May Alcott was ahead of its time in 1869 as it focused on female ambition, and "The Best of Everything" by Rona Jaffe explored sexism and injustices facing career women in the 1950s.

"I was really proud to put it on the list," Fillichio said, recalling how the 1958 book inspired millions of women to join the workforce.

Just six years later, Betty Friedan furthered that debate by writing in "The Feminine Mystique" about the discontentment many women felt toward societal expectations of housewives and mothers.

The book list continues to expand as suggestions come in. More will be added this month, but Fillichio is keeping the titles under wraps.

The public has contributed more than 400 suggestions. If you'd like to add yours, find the link at www.dol.gov.

My list will include "Babbitt" by Sinclair Lewis, the 1922 novel of conformity that tells the story of real estate man George Babbitt. And of course, "Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type," the 2001 children's classic by Doreen Cronin. The cows demand better working conditions and go on strike until they get what they want.