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Stegner's historical novel concerning Joe Hill is a sympathetic look at the radical labor movement of the first decade of the 20th century, and, at the same time, a complex and nuanced study of Joe Hill(strom) himself. In fact, it is a story of just how Joe Hillstrom, the Swedish immigrant, became the legendary Joe Hill, a hero of popular culture down to the present day. Was Hillstrom guilty of the robbery and murder for which he was executed in 1915? Probably, although Stegner leaves the question, however improbably, open. At least no evidence ever surfaced of the mysterious woman Joe claimed he was with when he was wounded by a bullet, as it just so happens, on the same evening the intruder and murderer at the downtown Salt Lake store was also wounded and fled the scene. Hill, it seems, never wavered from his hatred of capitalist enterprise, so many of his decisions as he stood trial and then waited through appeals on death row seems to have been shaped by loyalty to the IWW and to his sense of the legend that was growing around him. Stegner is a writer of flawless technique, who intimately knows the world in which this story takes place. It was a pleasure to read this book, despite the grave seriousness of so much of the story Stegner tells.