Janesville Janesville

Janesville

An American Story

    • 4.2 • 58 Ratings
    • $11.99
    • $11.99

Publisher Description

* Financial Times and McKinsey Business Book of the Year * Winner of the J. Anthony Lukas Book Prize​ * 800-CEO-READ Business Book of the Year * A New York Times Notable Book * A Washington Post Notable Book * An NPR Best Book of 2017 * A Wall Street Journal Best Book of 2017 * An Economist Best Book of 2017 * A Business Insider Best Book of 2017 *

“A gripping story of psychological defeat and resilience” (Bob Woodward, The Washington Post)—an intimate account of the fallout from the closing of a General Motors assembly plant in Janesville, Wisconsin, and a larger story of the hollowing of the American middle class.

This is the story of what happens to an industrial town in the American heartland when its main factory shuts down—but it’s not the familiar tale. Most observers record the immediate shock of vanished jobs, but few stay around long enough to notice what happens next when a community with a can-do spirit tries to pick itself up.

Pulitzer Prize–winning reporter Amy Goldstein spent years immersed in Janesville, Wisconsin, where the nation’s oldest operating General Motors assembly plant shut down in the midst of the Great Recession. Now, with intelligence, sympathy, and insight into what connects and divides people in an era of economic upheaval, Goldstein shows the consequences of one of America’s biggest political issues. Her reporting takes the reader deep into the lives of autoworkers, educators, bankers, politicians, and job re-trainers to show why it’s so hard in the twenty-first century to recreate a healthy, prosperous working class.

“Moving and magnificently well-researched...Janesville joins a growing family of books about the evisceration of the working class in the United States. What sets it apart is the sophistication of its storytelling and analysis” (Jennifer Senior, The New York Times).

“Anyone tempted to generalize about the American working class ought to meet the people in Janesville. The reporting behind this book is extraordinary and the story—a stark, heartbreaking reminder that political ideologies have real consequences—is told with rare sympathy and insight” (Tracy Kidder, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of The Soul of a New Machine).

GENRE
Politics & Current Events
RELEASED
2017
April 18
LANGUAGE
EN
English
LENGTH
368
Pages
PUBLISHER
Simon & Schuster
SELLER
Simon & Schuster Digital Sales LLC
SIZE
7.4
MB

Customer Reviews

DD4585 ,

Good and Interesting Read

This book showed perspective of how America’s small town can cling on corporation that support their livelihood and middle income lifestyle. The people, the town, the government really rose up with practically everything against them. This book also showed a wide range of experiences from young to old, from position of power to workers.

The book can be a bit of stretch in pace but it was necessary to be able to view the full scope of what people went through.

Bonescastle20 ,

Wow

Well written book regarding the town. Live in the town and appreciate the author’s in depth portrayal of the events, people, and effects of the plant closing. Thank you for telling the story of how the plant workers were affected. You told their stories and their families stories well.

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