[Excerpt] The four books under review here argue against the statistics by telling story upon story of the activities that clearly have the potential for reversing labor's demise. Most of the stories are about defensive struggles not new offensives, and even the most inspiring "victories" are hedged with all sorts of qualifications. But you cannot read these books without a sense of renewal and hope for the future, without a sense of what is possible when working people take things in their own hands.