Book excerpt: This controversial but well-documented and deftly argued study analyzes the present and future prospects for organized labor in the private sector. The book takes the decline and ultimate disappearance of labor unions -- not just in the United States but elsewhere in the developed, world as fact. Beginning with this premise, Troy goes on to elaborate on the extent and reasons for the decline by addressing four vital questions: 1. Can private-sector unions ever make a comeback? 2. If organized labor cannot recover, what are the consequences for both unionized and non-unionized workers, for the economy, and for the unionism itself? 3. What is the experience of other countries, particularly Canada whose industrial relations parallels that of the United States? 4. And, finally, what explains the international decline and change in the character of unions, especially in places like the United Kingdom and Germany?