"A first rate piece of scholarship and must reading for students of early American history."--The William and Mary Quarterly"A vivid and vigorously argued history of apprenticeship in America."--Journal of Social History"[A] scholarly and well-documented book....Absorbing and illuminating."--Washington Post Book World"[An] engaging history."--The Philadelphia Inquirer"A highly engaging and insightful study of how the political, commercial, and industrial revolutions in America transformed the lives of those on the bottom rung of the craft ladder....An important contribution to the understanding of the artisan experience in America."--Business History Review"Americana at its fascinating best....The story of apprenticeship in the US offers a fascinating perspective on the nation during its formative years. Rorabaugh brings these seminal decades alive with vivid first-hand accounts drawn from letters, diaries, memoirs and other primary sources....An original and engaging contribution to scholarship with appeal that goes well beyond an academic readership."--Kirkus Reviews"One of those rare studies that exposes something grand by focusing on something small....This superb volume makes several significant contributions."--History of Education Quarterly"The best recent treatment of the decline and fall of an institution once pivotal to American life and labor....In this rich, insightful, and imaginative study, W.J. Rorabaugh has finally given the subject the direct attention it deserves."--Journal of Economic History"Using hundreds of autobiographies, diaries, and letters, Rorabaugh...pieces together the broad outlines of the apprentice's experience and the impact of the American Revolution, the ideology of equality, technological changes, and the Civil War on the relations between masters and apprentices....Should be read by all students interested in the history of labor and education."--Choice