San Antonio College Library

"Skilled Hands, Strong Spirits follows the history of the Building and Construction Trades Department from the emergence of building trades councils in the age of the skyscraper; through treacherous fights over jurisdiction as new building materials and methods of work evolved; and through numerous Department campaigns to improve safety standards, work with contractors to promote unionized construction, and forge a sense of industrial unity among...

In this novel the author has created a sometimes poignant, sometimes hilarious tale of attraction and loyalty, jealousy and grief. It is a classic love story with some modern twists. Janet Rossi is very smart and unusually attractive, an aide to the governor of Massachusetts, but she suffers from an illness that makes her, as she puts it, "not exactly a good long-term investment." Jake Entwhistle is a few years older, a carpenter and portrait painter,...

The account of an unprecedented feat of engineering, vision, and courage. It is the story of the men who built the transcontinental railroad-the investors who risked their businesses and money; the enlightened politicians who understood its importance; the engineers and surveyors who risked, and sometimes lost, their lives; and the Irish and Chinese immigrants, the defeated Confederate soldiers, and the other laborers who did the backbreaking and...

A documentary recognizing members of the building trades who helped in the rescue, recovery, and clean up efforts at the World Trade Center, called Ground Zero, in New York City, following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Includes interviews of workers at Ground Zero: Greg Nolan, crane operator; Rick Ostrander, dockbuilder; Hugh Smith, carpenter; Chris Pillai, iron worker; Will Quinlen, iron work; Father Brian Jordan OFM, priest who ministered...

"Sam Acquillo can hide in his windswept cottage all he wants. The demons of his past are going to find him. Worse, they've teamed up with some pretty nasty demons of the present, including a very determined Chief of Police whose top detective has Sam caught in the cross hairs. Part-time carpenter, full-time drinker and co-conspirator with an existential mutt named Eddie Van Halen, Sam tries to lead the simple life. But Robbie Milhouser, local builder...

What does it mean to become American? What is lost and what is gained in the process? In interviews with historians, descendants, and recent immigrants, this set of powerful Bill Moyers documentaries explores these questions through the dramatic experience of the Chinese in America.