Robert (Bob) March was the second full-time employee of the Berkeley Co-op grocery store after its founding in 1938. He chose to adopt the cooperative way of life as a lifelong career, having begun his journey with a master's thesis on the cooperative movement. His career took him through many aspects of the cooperative movement at the Consumers Cooperative of Berkeley (CCB) and beyond. He was interim manager during World War II; worked at Associated Cooperatives, the warehouse distributor for the CCB; was Vice President or President of the Berkeley Co-op Board of Directors from 1948 to 1952; and was on the Board of Directors of Books Unlimited (a book collective). He was Co-op Center Federal Credit Union branch manager for 14 years. His oral history interview was recorded in 1987, the year when the Berkeley Co-op celebrated its 50th anniversary and expanded its oral history recordings. Unfortunately, in 1987 the Berkeley Co-op was already experiencing difficulties leading to its eventual demise. The interview transcript and numerous supplementary materials provide a multifaceted view of one man's life as well as the rise and fall of what was once the largest consumer co-op in the United States.
The book is heavily illustrated with more than 70 images including family photos, photos from the co-op workplaces, and documents including newsletter articles, correspondence, brochures and more. There is even an account of Bob March's experience of the 1965 civil rights march from Selma to Montgomery.