A story of the growth of the         new South, To Make My Bread revolves around a family of Appalachian         mountaineers—small farmers, hunters, and moonshiners—driven         by economic conditions to the milltown and transformed into millhands,         strikers, and rebels against the established order. Recognized as one         of the major works on the Gastonia textile strike, Grace Lumpkin's novel         is also important for anyone interested in cultural or feminist history         as it deals with early generations of women radicals committed to addressing         the difficult connections of class and race. Suzanne Sowinska's introduction         looks at Lumpkin's volatile career and this book's critical reception.       Originally published in 1932       "[The book's] meaning         rises out of people in dramatic conflict with other people and with the         conditions of their life. . . . [Lumpkin] treats her theme with a craftsman's         and a psychologist's respect. The novel springs naturally from its author's         immersion in and personal knowledge of her absorbing subject material."         -- The New York Times       "Unpretentious . . .         written in a simple and matter-of-fact prose, and yet reading it has been         a more real, more satisfying experience than that which almost any other         recent work of fiction has given me. I cannot imagine how anyone could         read it and not be moved by it." -- The Nation       "A beautiful and sincere         novel, outstanding." -- The New Republic       The late