Harry Bridges: A Man and His Union.

|This review was originally published in The Dispatcher, the newspaper of the International Longshoreman and Warehousemen's Union. It was written by Gene Dennis Vrana, the ILWU Librarian and Archivist, and reprinted with permission.~

In recent years, we have reviewed on these pages several books and essays about the union during the era of Harry Bridges's leadership, 1934-1977. The story provides good copy for labor historians--and for good reasons. But, until now, there has only been one major work on Harry's life.

This gap was largely due to Harry's refusal to cooperate with those who would single him out for attention, who would drag him into the public spotlight he felt should be reserved for the rank and file, and who (he felt) would distort the union's history -- and his place in it -- for their own political purposes.

Berry Minott's new film, Harry Bridges: A Man and His Union, is a perfect example of what concerned Harry.

With the help of a host of ILWU members, including screenwriter Jim Hamilton, …