Labor Mobility Books | Summaries & Audio

Getting a Job

by Mark Granovetter • 1995

The finding that changed sociology: casual acquaintances land you jobs that close friends cannot.

3.64

🏢 Labor Markets 🕸️ Social Networks 💼 Economic Sociology

Getting a Job 89%

The finding that changed sociology: casual acquaintances land you jobs that close friends cannot.

by Mark Granovetter 1995

3.64

50 ratings

🏢 Labor Markets 🕸️ Social Networks 💼 Economic Sociology

How Migration Really Works

by Hein de Haas • 2023

Migration hasn't surged in sixty years. Nearly everything politicians say about it is backwards.

4.35

3k+

🔬 Migration Studies 💼 Labor Economics 🌱 Development Economics

How Migration Really Works 89%

Migration hasn't surged in sixty years. Nearly everything politicians say about it is backwards.

by Hein de Haas 2023

4.35

3k+ ratings

🔬 Migration Studies 💼 Labor Economics 🌱 Development Economics

The New Geography Of Jobs

by Enrico Moretti • 2012

A single innovation job creates five local ones, but only where the cluster already exists.

4.03

3k+

🗺️ Economic Geography 💡 Innovation Clusters 🎓 Human Capital

The New Geography Of Jobs 89%

A single innovation job creates five local ones, but only where the cluster already exists.

by Enrico Moretti 2012

4.03

3k+ ratings

🗺️ Economic Geography 💡 Innovation Clusters 🎓 Human Capital

Average Is Over

by Tyler Cowen • 2013

The labor market is now a chess match: winning means teaming up with the machine.

3.64

2k+

🛠️ Labor Economics 🔮 Future Of Work 🤖 Technological Unemployment

Average Is Over 88%

The labor market is now a chess match: winning means teaming up with the machine.

by Tyler Cowen 2013

3.64

2k+ ratings

🛠️ Labor Economics 🔮 Future Of Work 🤖 Technological Unemployment

The Future of Work

by Darrell M. West • 2018

Automation threatens half of all jobs. Our safety nets were designed for a different economy.

3.47

203

🏭 Workforce Automation 📉 Job Displacement 🚗 Gig Economy

The Future of Work 88%

Automation threatens half of all jobs. Our safety nets were designed for a different economy.

by Darrell M. West 2018

3.47

203 ratings

🏭 Workforce Automation 📉 Job Displacement 🚗 Gig Economy

A Nation by Design

by Aristide R. Zolberg • 2006

America's open-border myth hides a centuries-long project of population engineering.

3.82

🛂 Immigration Policy 🏛️ American Political Development 🚧 Border Enforcement History

A Nation by Design 88%

America's open-border myth hides a centuries-long project of population engineering.

by Aristide R. Zolberg 2006

3.82

55 ratings

🛂 Immigration Policy 🏛️ American Political Development 🚧 Border Enforcement History

Work Won't Love You Back

by Sarah Jaffe • 2021

From unpaid interns to burned-out coders, one ideology fuels it all: devotion to the job.

3.94

5k+

✊ Labor Organizing 🧡 Passion Economy 🎭 Emotional Labor

Work Won't Love You Back 88%

From unpaid interns to burned-out coders, one ideology fuels it all: devotion to the job.

by Sarah Jaffe 2021

3.94

5k+ ratings

✊ Labor Organizing 🧡 Passion Economy 🎭 Emotional Labor

The Great Escape

by Saket Soni • 2023

Trapped in a US labor camp, hundreds of Indian men escaped, then began a 1,500-mile march.

4.50

980

⛓️ Labor Trafficking 🚨 Immigration Enforcement ✊ Labor Organizing

The Great Escape 88%

Trapped in a US labor camp, hundreds of Indian men escaped, then began a 1,500-mile march.

by Saket Soni 2023

4.50

980 ratings

⛓️ Labor Trafficking 🚨 Immigration Enforcement ✊ Labor Organizing

Making It in America

by Rachel Slade • 2024

Sixty thousand American factories shuttered since NAFTA. One couple bet everything to open just one.

3.63

323

🏭 American Manufacturing 📉 Manufacturing Decline 📜 Trade Policy

Making It in America 88%

Sixty thousand American factories shuttered since NAFTA. One couple bet everything to open just one.

by Rachel Slade 2024

3.63

323 ratings

🏭 American Manufacturing 📉 Manufacturing Decline 📜 Trade Policy

Private Government

by Elizabeth S. Anderson • 2017

The workplace is an authoritarian state that most economic thought pretends does not exist.

3.94

856

🏛️ Workplace Authority 🗳️ Workplace Democracy 🗽 Republican Freedom

Private Government 88%

The workplace is an authoritarian state that most economic thought pretends does not exist.

by Elizabeth S. Anderson 2017

3.94

856 ratings

🏛️ Workplace Authority 🗳️ Workplace Democracy 🗽 Republican Freedom

Undoing Border Imperialism

by Harsha Walia • 2013

Borders create the displacement they pretend to prevent, then turn survivors into cheap labor.

4.51

525

🚫 Border Abolition ✊ Migrant Justice 🏚️ Settler Colonialism

Undoing Border Imperialism 88%

Borders create the displacement they pretend to prevent, then turn survivors into cheap labor.

by Harsha Walia 2013

4.51

525 ratings

🚫 Border Abolition ✊ Migrant Justice 🏚️ Settler Colonialism

Not Working

by D.W. Gibson • 2012

What a paycheck conceals: Americans on the identity, health, and dignity that left with the job.

3.68

🎙️ Oral History 💸 Economic Precarity 🔨 Work And Identity

Not Working 88%

What a paycheck conceals: Americans on the identity, health, and dignity that left with the job.

by D.W. Gibson 2012

3.68

60 ratings

🎙️ Oral History 💸 Economic Precarity 🔨 Work And Identity

Hell to Pay

by Michael Lind • 2023

Stagnant wages aren't fate. They were engineered by a decades-long campaign to crush worker power.

3.93

🧑‍🔧 Labor Economics 🏛️ Political Economy 💸 Wage Inequality

Hell to Pay 87%

Stagnant wages aren't fate. They were engineered by a decades-long campaign to crush worker power.

by Michael Lind 2023

3.93

80 ratings

🧑‍🔧 Labor Economics 🏛️ Political Economy 💸 Wage Inequality

Black Folk

by Blair L.M. Kelley • 2023

Forged in slavery, the Black working class built power through community, not just wages.

4.49

417

🔨 American Labor History 💰 Black Economic History 🏭 Working Class Studies

Black Folk 87%

Forged in slavery, the Black working class built power through community, not just wages.

by Blair L.M. Kelley 2023

4.49

417 ratings

🔨 American Labor History 💰 Black Economic History 🏭 Working Class Studies

The Sharing Economy

by Arun Sundararajan • 2016

Trust between strangers, scaled by smartphones, is building an economy that sidesteps the firm.

3.66

491

🤝 Sharing Economy 🔌 Platform Economics 🚗 Gig Economy

The Sharing Economy 87%

Trust between strangers, scaled by smartphones, is building an economy that sidesteps the firm.

by Arun Sundararajan 2016

3.66

491 ratings

🤝 Sharing Economy 🔌 Platform Economics 🚗 Gig Economy

"They Take Our Jobs!"

by Aviva Chomsky • 2007

We blame immigrants for problems that trade deals and colonial extraction actually created.

4.06

623

📋 Immigration Policy 🚧 Border Militarization 🌍 Global Inequality

"They Take Our Jobs!" 87%

We blame immigrants for problems that trade deals and colonial extraction actually created.

by Aviva Chomsky 2007

4.06

623 ratings

📋 Immigration Policy 🚧 Border Militarization 🌍 Global Inequality

The Rise of the Creative Class

by Richard Florida • 2004

Jobs once followed factories. Now a class of creatives clusters in the most tolerant cities.

3.68

3k+

🏙️ Urban Economics 🎨 Creative Industries 🧠 Knowledge Work

The Rise of the Creative Class 87%

Jobs once followed factories. Now a class of creatives clusters in the most tolerant cities.

by Richard Florida 2004

3.68

3k+ ratings

🏙️ Urban Economics 🎨 Creative Industries 🧠 Knowledge Work

Chokepoint Capitalism

by Rebecca Giblin • 2022

A few corporations hold the gates between artists and audiences. The plan to pry them open.

4.25

1k+

🧠 Creative Industries 💻 Digital Platforms 🏢 Corporate Power

Chokepoint Capitalism 87%

A few corporations hold the gates between artists and audiences. The plan to pry them open.

by Rebecca Giblin 2022

4.25

1k+ ratings

🧠 Creative Industries 💻 Digital Platforms 🏢 Corporate Power

The Case for Good Jobs

by Zeynep Ton • 2023

Low wages hide costs that cripple a business. Paying workers well is the most profitable choice.

4.12

165

📊 Labor Economics 🧑‍💼 Frontline Management 💰 Living Wages

The Case for Good Jobs 87%

Low wages hide costs that cripple a business. Paying workers well is the most profitable choice.

by Zeynep Ton 2023

4.12

165 ratings

📊 Labor Economics 🧑‍💼 Frontline Management 💰 Living Wages

Justice at Work

by Marc Doussard • 2022

How coalitions fuse racial and economic justice to win policy in cities.

5.00

🏙️ Urban Policy ✊ Labor Movements 🤝 Coalition Building

Justice at Work 87%

How coalitions fuse racial and economic justice to win policy in cities.

by Marc Doussard 2022

5.00

3 ratings

🏙️ Urban Policy ✊ Labor Movements 🤝 Coalition Building

The Fall of the House of Labor

by David Montgomery • 1987

Worker knowledge ran the factory floor. Management's fifty-year fight to seize it.

3.93

147

📚 Labor History 🛠️ Craft Unionism ⚙️ Scientific Management

The Fall of the House of Labor 87%

Worker knowledge ran the factory floor. Management's fifty-year fight to seize it.

by David Montgomery 1987

3.93

147 ratings

📚 Labor History 🛠️ Craft Unionism ⚙️ Scientific Management

The Technology Trap

by Carl Benedikt Frey • 2019

The telescope helps you see. The power loom takes your job. Which one is AI?

4.10

657

🏛️ Economic History 👷 Labor Economics 🏭 Industrial Revolution

The Technology Trap 87%

The telescope helps you see. The power loom takes your job. Which one is AI?

by Carl Benedikt Frey 2019

4.10

657 ratings

🏛️ Economic History 👷 Labor Economics 🏭 Industrial Revolution

Behind the Screen

by Sarah T. Roberts • 2019

The open internet is a myth: a hidden workforce decides what you see, for a hidden price.

3.65

168

🛡️ Content Moderation ⚖️ Platform Governance 🖥️ Digital Labor

Behind the Screen 87%

The open internet is a myth: a hidden workforce decides what you see, for a hidden price.

by Sarah T. Roberts 2019

3.65

168 ratings

🛡️ Content Moderation ⚖️ Platform Governance 🖥️ Digital Labor

State of the Union

by Nelson Lichtenstein • 2002

Why American law expanded individual rights while dismantling the collective power of labor.

3.75

170

🏭 Labor History 🇺🇸 American Labor Movement 📜 New Deal Era

State of the Union 87%

Why American law expanded individual rights while dismantling the collective power of labor.

by Nelson Lichtenstein 2002

3.75

170 ratings

🏭 Labor History 🇺🇸 American Labor Movement 📜 New Deal Era

The Corrosion of Character

by Richard Sennett • 1996

Flexible work promised freedom. It delivered the slow erosion of loyalty, trust, and a stable self.

3.94

2k+

🪤 Precarious Labor 🎭 Work And Identity 🏭 Post-Fordist Economy

The Corrosion of Character 87%

Flexible work promised freedom. It delivered the slow erosion of loyalty, trust, and a stable self.

by Richard Sennett 1996

3.94

2k+ ratings

🪤 Precarious Labor 🎭 Work And Identity 🏭 Post-Fordist Economy

Strategic Workforce Planning

by Ross Sparkman • 2018

The data-backed system that turns business strategy into a workforce plan, so every hire fits.

3.69

📈 Workforce Planning 👥 Talent Management 📊 Workforce Analytics

Strategic Workforce Planning 87%

The data-backed system that turns business strategy into a workforce plan, so every hire fits.

by Ross Sparkman 2018

3.69

55 ratings

📈 Workforce Planning 👥 Talent Management 📊 Workforce Analytics

Rise of the Robots

by Martin Ford • 2015

Productivity soars, wages stagnate, and education won't fix it. The real economics of automation.

3.96

10k+

🤖 Technological Unemployment 🧠 Artificial Intelligence 📉 Income Inequality

Rise of the Robots 87%

Productivity soars, wages stagnate, and education won't fix it. The real economics of automation.

by Martin Ford 2015

3.96

10k+ ratings

🤖 Technological Unemployment 🧠 Artificial Intelligence 📉 Income Inequality

No Shame in My Game

by Katherine S. Newman • 1999

The job everyone ridicules might be the best shot at dignity for America's working poor.

3.75

466

🧐 Urban Ethnography 🧑‍🏭 Working Poor 🍔 Low-Wage Labor

No Shame in My Game 87%

The job everyone ridicules might be the best shot at dignity for America's working poor.

by Katherine S. Newman 1999

3.75

466 ratings

🧐 Urban Ethnography 🧑‍🏭 Working Poor 🍔 Low-Wage Labor

Kids These Days

by Malcolm Harris • 2017

Childhood became a competition for human capital. Millennials are what that competition produces.

3.77

2k+

👥 Generational Economics 💼 Human Capital Theory 💸 Student Debt Crisis

Kids These Days 87%

Childhood became a competition for human capital. Millennials are what that competition produces.

by Malcolm Harris 2017

3.77

2k+ ratings

👥 Generational Economics 💼 Human Capital Theory 💸 Student Debt Crisis

Press Reset

by Jason Schreier • 2021

Why game developers lose their jobs after shipping hit games, and who profits.

4.05

8k+

🎮 Video Game Industry 🛠️ Tech Labor ⏰ Crunch Culture

Press Reset 87%

Why game developers lose their jobs after shipping hit games, and who profits.

by Jason Schreier 2021

4.05

8k+ ratings

🎮 Video Game Industry 🛠️ Tech Labor ⏰ Crunch Culture

The Talent Revolution

by Anne Fulton • 2023

An internal talent market matches skills to work. Build one, and the talent hoarding stops.

4.52

👥 Talent Management 🔮 Future Of Work 🔄 Internal Mobility

The Talent Revolution 87%

An internal talent market matches skills to work. Build one, and the talent hoarding stops.

by Anne Fulton 2023

4.52

21 ratings

👥 Talent Management 🔮 Future Of Work 🔄 Internal Mobility

The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work

by Alain de Botton • 2008

From cargo ships to rocket launches, a philosopher finds why work delights and disappoints us.

3.62

6k+

🏢 Modern Work 📊 Occupational Sociology 🚢 Global Supply Chain

The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work Summary

The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work 87%

From cargo ships to rocket launches, a philosopher finds why work delights and disappoints us.

by Alain de Botton 2008

3.62

6k+ ratings

🏢 Modern Work 📊 Occupational Sociology 🚢 Global Supply Chain

The Most Dangerous Man In Detroit

by Nelson Lichtenstein • 1995

The labor leader who could have reshaped American capitalism settled for a cost-of-living clause.

4.04

🏭 Labor History 🚗 Auto Industry 🌹 Social Democracy

The Most Dangerous Man In Detroit Summary

The Most Dangerous Man In Detroit 87%

The labor leader who could have reshaped American capitalism settled for a cost-of-living clause.

by Nelson Lichtenstein 1995

4.04

96 ratings

🏭 Labor History 🚗 Auto Industry 🌹 Social Democracy

Who's Your City?

by Richard Florida • 2008

Forty regions hold two-thirds of the world's wealth. Your zip code now outweighs your resume.

3.46

2k+

🗺️ Economic Geography 🔗 Clustering Effects 😊 Place And Happiness

Who's Your City? 87%

Forty regions hold two-thirds of the world's wealth. Your zip code now outweighs your resume.

by Richard Florida 2008

3.46

2k+ ratings

🗺️ Economic Geography 🔗 Clustering Effects 😊 Place And Happiness

The Future of the Professions

by Richard Susskind • 2015

The professions were built on a trade: exclusive knowledge for public trust. That trade is ending.

3.64

1k+

💼 Professional Services 🔮 Future Of Work ⚡ Technology Disruption

The Future of the Professions 87%

The professions were built on a trade: exclusive knowledge for public trust. That trade is ending.

by Richard Susskind 2015

3.64

1k+ ratings

💼 Professional Services 🔮 Future Of Work ⚡ Technology Disruption

Mexifornia

by Victor Davis Hanson • 2003

California's crisis: what cheap labor, open borders, and multicultural denial produce.

3.93

760

🌎 Undocumented Immigration 🗣️ Assimilation Debates 📚 Critique Of Multiculturalism

Mexifornia 87%

California's crisis: what cheap labor, open borders, and multicultural denial produce.

by Victor Davis Hanson 2003

3.93

760 ratings

🌎 Undocumented Immigration 🗣️ Assimilation Debates 📚 Critique Of Multiculturalism

Democracy at Work

by Richard D. Wolff • 2012

Capitalism's crises are by design. The only fix: workers run the company.

3.95

2k+

🗳️ Workplace Democracy 🏛️ Economic Democracy 🌱 Post-Capitalism

Democracy at Work 87%

Capitalism's crises are by design. The only fix: workers run the company.

by Richard D. Wolff 2012

3.95

2k+ ratings

🗳️ Workplace Democracy 🏛️ Economic Democracy 🌱 Post-Capitalism

A World Without Work

by Daniel Susskind • 2020

Past automation always created more jobs than it killed. The evidence that this time is different.

3.83

2k+

🏭 Technological Unemployment 📊 Automation Economics 🌅 Post-Work Society

A World Without Work 87%

Past automation always created more jobs than it killed. The evidence that this time is different.

by Daniel Susskind 2020

3.83

2k+ ratings

🏭 Technological Unemployment 📊 Automation Economics 🌅 Post-Work Society

Shop Class as Soulcraft

by Matthew B. Crawford • 2009

White-collar work dulls the mind. The intellectual case for picking up a wrench instead.

3.74

11k+

🔨 Craftsmanship 🧑‍💻 Knowledge Work 🧠 Tacit Knowledge

Shop Class as Soulcraft 87%

White-collar work dulls the mind. The intellectual case for picking up a wrench instead.

by Matthew B. Crawford 2009

3.74

11k+ ratings

🔨 Craftsmanship 🧑‍💻 Knowledge Work 🧠 Tacit Knowledge

Why David Sometimes Wins

by Marshall Ganz • 2008

No money, no power. The farm workers still beat the Teamsters. What they had was better.

3.99

177

✊ Labor Movements ♟️ Movement Strategy 🧠 Organizational Learning

Why David Sometimes Wins 87%

No money, no power. The farm workers still beat the Teamsters. What they had was better.

by Marshall Ganz 2008

3.99

177 ratings

✊ Labor Movements ♟️ Movement Strategy 🧠 Organizational Learning

Men Without Work

by Nicholas Eberstadt • 2016

Seven million prime-age men have quit the workforce entirely. The problem isn't a lack of jobs.

3.41

501

🏭 Labor Economics 📊 Workforce Participation 🏛️ Welfare Reform

Men Without Work 87%

Seven million prime-age men have quit the workforce entirely. The problem isn't a lack of jobs.

by Nicholas Eberstadt 2016

3.41

501 ratings

🏭 Labor Economics 📊 Workforce Participation 🏛️ Welfare Reform

Smart People Should Build Things

by Andrew Yang • 2014

Elite recruiting funnels top grads into finance and law, not startups. The cost, and the fix.

3.79

1k+

🧑‍💼 Human Capital 🌱 Startup Ecosystems 🔗 Talent Pipelines

Smart People Should Build Things Summary

Smart People Should Build Things 87%

Elite recruiting funnels top grads into finance and law, not startups. The cost, and the fix.

by Andrew Yang 2014

3.79

1k+ ratings

🧑‍💼 Human Capital 🌱 Startup Ecosystems 🔗 Talent Pipelines

Enrique's Journey

by Sonia Nazario • 2005

A boy crosses Mexico atop freight trains, chasing the mother who left when he was five.

3.88

17k+

🌍 Immigration Stories 🌎 Central America 👦 Child Migration

Enrique's Journey 87%

A boy crosses Mexico atop freight trains, chasing the mother who left when he was five.

by Sonia Nazario 2005

3.88

17k+ ratings

🌍 Immigration Stories 🌎 Central America 👦 Child Migration

The Great Reset

by Richard Florida • 2010

Crashes rebuild how we live. Two gave us factories and suburbs. The third is remaking cities.

3.59

656

🏙️ Urban Economics 🗺️ Economic Geography 🏗️ Infrastructure

The Great Reset 86%

Crashes rebuild how we live. Two gave us factories and suburbs. The third is remaking cities.

by Richard Florida 2010

3.59

656 ratings

🏙️ Urban Economics 🗺️ Economic Geography 🏗️ Infrastructure

Is Your Work Worth It?

by Christopher Wong Michaelson • 2024

Your salary answers the wrong question. A philosopher's guide to what work is actually worth.

3.61

🧭 Meaningful Work 🪪 Work Identity 📞 Occupational Calling

Is Your Work Worth It? 86%

Your salary answers the wrong question. A philosopher's guide to what work is actually worth.

by Christopher Wong Michaelson 2024

3.61

82 ratings

🧭 Meaningful Work 🪪 Work Identity 📞 Occupational Calling

Bullshit Jobs

by David Graeber • 2018

Up to 40 percent of workers believe their jobs are pointless. They are probably right.

4.02

35k+

🏭 Critique Of Capitalism 🏛️ Economic Anthropology 💼 Meaningful Work

Bullshit Jobs 86%

Up to 40 percent of workers believe their jobs are pointless. They are probably right.

by David Graeber 2018

4.02

35k+ ratings

🏭 Critique Of Capitalism 🏛️ Economic Anthropology 💼 Meaningful Work

The Profit Paradox

by Jan Eeckhout • 2021

Since 1980, corporate profits have soared while wages stayed flat. The common thread: market power.

3.91

302

📊 Labor Economics 💪 Market Power 📉 Wage Stagnation

The Profit Paradox 86%

Since 1980, corporate profits have soared while wages stayed flat. The common thread: market power.

by Jan Eeckhout 2021

3.91

302 ratings

📊 Labor Economics 💪 Market Power 📉 Wage Stagnation

Nomad Capitalist

by Andrew Henderson • 2018

Legally pay less tax, get a second passport, and build a life across borders.

3.89

989

🗺️ Geographic Freedom 🏛️ Sovereign Individual 🛂 Dual Citizenship

Nomad Capitalist 86%

Legally pay less tax, get a second passport, and build a life across borders.

by Andrew Henderson 2018

3.89

989 ratings

🗺️ Geographic Freedom 🏛️ Sovereign Individual 🛂 Dual Citizenship

Entrepreneurial Nation

by Ro Khanna • 2012

Six times more productive: America's factory floor still beats China's, but policy hasn't caught up.

3.73

🏭 American Manufacturing 🏛️ Industrial Policy ⚙️ Innovation Policy

Entrepreneurial Nation 86%

Six times more productive: America's factory floor still beats China's, but policy hasn't caught up.

by Ro Khanna 2012

3.73

30 ratings

🏭 American Manufacturing 🏛️ Industrial Policy ⚙️ Innovation Policy

What Colour Is Your Parachute Workbook

by Richard Nelson Bolles • 1998

Your dream job isn't listed. A guided assessment that uncovers it, skill by skill.

3.73

684

🧭 Career Playbooks 🔍 Job Search Strategies 🔄 Transferable Skills

What Colour Is Your Parachute Workbook Summary

What Colour Is Your Parachute Workbook 86%

Your dream job isn't listed. A guided assessment that uncovers it, skill by skill.

by Richard Nelson Bolles 1998

3.73

684 ratings

🧭 Career Playbooks 🔍 Job Search Strategies 🔄 Transferable Skills

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