Andrei Markovits
Holding the Shop Together represents scholarship at its best; Stephen J. Silvia's immense erudition is visible and palpable in every sentence and every thought. This is far and away the best book on German trade unions and industrial relations bar none, in any language. Silvia tells a complex story and concludes that the fate of unions is decided by the political culture in which they operate.
Gary Herrigel
Insiders have known for years that Stephen J. Silvia tracks the progress of the German industrial relations system more fairly and extensively than any other English-language labor expert. This new book marks the culmination of a stalwart career and constitutes the most up-to-date survey of the state of German labor-management relations currently available anywhere. Holding the Shop Together will be valuable both to those uninitiated in the German system as well as to old Germany hands and other experts in comparative political economy. The central, highly original argument that the changes to the system in the last several decades have been so extensive that they effectively constitute a second postwar German labor system will both illuminate and provoke debate.
Michael Fichter
Stephen J. Silvia has a marvelous grasp of what makes the German system of industrial relations tick, along with the ongoing capacity of its actors to 'hold the shop together.' His book provides valuable insights for readers both in Germany and abroad. It is high time for this publication.