A Spark Is Struck

Jack Hall came ashore at Honolulu Harbor as an insignificant seaman and quickly took his place at the forefront of those who forged Hawaii’s destiny. A Spark is Struck! is Hall’s story—and the story behind the International Longshore & Warehouse Union in the Hawaiian Islands. Together, the man and the union helped incite a bloodless revolution, transforming Hawaii from the neo-colonialist paradise of a wealthy few to one of the most liberal states in the nation. It was an era of landmark events: the Red Scare, the consolidation of power, major labor strikes in the fields and on the docks. Here is the inside story of a power broker’s career and a union’s role in shaping today’s Hawaii

Sanford Zalburg covered Jack Hall and his union as a reporter for The Honolulu Advertiser and continued this close relationship while city editor of The Advertiser from 1959 to 1972. His meticulous research for A Spark is Struck!, first released in 1979, included interviews with more than 200 people and the analysis of thousands of letters, papers and documents in ILWU libraries in Hawaii and San Francisco.

This new edition includes a foreword from AhQuon McElrath, a union pioneer in her own right.

Softcover; 576 pp.
Author: Sanford Zalburg
Release Date: August 2007