History professor’s book named among this year’s Michigan Notable Books

Oakland University history professor Daniel Clark’s recently published book on the lives of Detroit autoworkers in the 1950s is among 20 works selected as Michigan Notable Books for 2025. 

Compiled by the Library of Michigan, the list celebrates books published the previous year that are about Michigan or the Great Lakes or are written by a Michigan author.

Clark’s book, “Listening to Workers: Oral Histories of Metro Detroit Autoworkers in the 1950s” chronicles the lives and careers of factory workers, whose experiences contrasted with conventional notions of post-World War II prosperity.

Instead of job security and a comfortable middle-class lifestyle, the oral histories revealed that workers faced chronic layoffs and financial instability, often struggling to make ends meet and taking second jobs to provide for their families. 

“The interviews convinced me that the experiences of autoworkers were quite different from what the historical scholarship told us and what our popular memories told us,” said Clark. “I discovered that workers lived profoundly insecure lives, without the rising incomes and benefits that people today are so nostalgic about.” 

The book also explores workers’ personal lives, from their childhood, education, marriage and family life, leisure activities, career aspirations and the paths that led them to Detroit-area auto plants. In particular, Clark focuses on rank and file workers, whose stories tend to go untold or be glossed over in history books. 

“I think it’s useful to seek out perspectives of ordinary people, and to understand that what we project onto people isn’t always accurate,” said Clark. “While that may lead to a messier understanding of the past, I think it gives us a more authentic view of people and events.”

Michigan Notable Books cover a wide range of categories, from history to memoir to fiction. Selected works are targeted to a general audience, which Clark found especially gratifying.

“I like the idea that people at the Library of Michigan thought the book would appeal to a general audience, and that ordinary people who are interested in learning would benefit from reading it,” Clark said. 

Clark is on the board of the Michigan Oral History Association and frequently incorporates oral history into his classes. He teaches intro courses on American history, as well as upper-level courses on American labor history, Detroit labor history and an oral history seminar course. He will discuss his book at various public libraries during a speaking tour organized by the Library of Michigan.