Onaspringdayin1961,over-the-roadtruckerJimHarperwasenroutefromMauston,Wisconsin,tohishomeinMinneapolis.At70milesperhour,withacombined60,000poundsofman,machine,andmaterial,heapproachedacurvealongtheGreatRiverRoadandhitthebrakes.Thetractor-trailerdidn’tslow.Harper’sbrakelineshadbeencut.Inprecedingmonths,HarperhadledaninsurgencyinhisTeamsters’Local544tocleanupcorruptionamongitsleaders.HiseffortsdrewtheattentionofnoneotherthanJimmyHoffa,atthetimefocusedonsecuringhisrighttoleadthenationalTeamstersorganizationwithoutgovernmentintervention.JimHarperhadhisreasonsforconfrontinghislocal’sleadership--ahardscrabblechildhoodandastintinAngolaprisonhadlefthimseekingredemption,andJimmyHoffahadpubliclycalledforunionreform.ButHoffa,underfederalinvestigationforquestionablefinancialdealings,haddeep,darksecrets;thelastthingheneededwasaspotlightonMinneapolis.Despitetheincreasingthreatstohislifeandthoseofhisyoungfamily,Harpercontinuedtopresshiscase.Inthisfascinatingaccount,Harper’ssontracestheinterwovenpathsofthesetwomen--acriminaliconandadeterminedvigilante--fromtheirformativeyearsthroughtheirunbelievableface-off.AccoladesforCrossingHoffa:BestBooksof2007,ChicagoTribuneBestBooks,2008NewYorkBookFestival“HonorableMention“inthe2008HollywoodBookFestival’sBiography/Autobiographycategory.
Wisconsin HARPER MACHINE CROSSING
