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American Made
American Made: What Happens to People When Work Disappears | Farah Stockman
5 posts | 4 read | 19 to read
What happens when Americans lose their jobs? In this illuminating story of ruin and reinvention, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Farah Stockman gives an up-close look at the profound role work plays in our sense of identity and belonging, as she follows three workers whose lives unravel when the factory they have dedicated so much to closes down. With humor, breathtaking honesty, and a historians satellite view, Stockman illuminates the fault lines ripping America apart.Beth Macy, author of Factory Man and Dopesick Shannon, Wally, and John built their lives around their place of work. Shannon, a white single mother, became the first woman to run the dangerous furnaces at the Rexnord manufacturing plant in Indianapolis, Indiana, and was proud of producing one of the worlds top brands of steel bearings. Wally, a black man known for his initiative and kindness, was promoted to chairman of efficiency, one of the most coveted posts on the factory floor, and dreamed of starting his own barbecue business one day. John, a white machine operator, came from a multigenerational union family and clashed with a work environment that was increasingly hostile to organized labor. The Rexnord factory had served as one of the economic engines for the surrounding community. When it closed, hundreds of people lost their jobs. What had life been like for Shannon, Wally, and John, before the plant shut down? And what became of them after the jobs moved to Mexico and Texas? American Made is the story of a community struggling to reinvent itself. It is also a story about race, class, and American values, and how jobs serve as a bedrock of peoples lives and drive powerful social justice movements. This revealing book shines a light on this political moment, when joblessness and uncertainty about the future of work have made themselves heard at a national level. Most of all, it is a story about people: who we consider to be one of us and how the dignity of work lies at the heart of who we are.
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Sharpeipup
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To be basic or bougie, that is the question. ☕️

JacqMac Ooo… bougie sounds yummy. Lol 2y
27 likes1 stack add1 comment
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Amiable
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Pickpick

An absorbing narrative of the lives of three Indiana workers after their factory shuts down and their jobs disappear. It‘s a story about race, class and American values and how it‘s all intertwined with capitalism, politics and social justice.

#Nonfiction2023
Prompt: “Goodbye, Earl”

52 likes2 stack adds
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Bookwormjillk
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#12booksof2022

So many of my 2022 favorites were non-fiction. Not normal at all for me!

This was a fascinating exploration of people who worked for a closed factory in Indiana in the years after the 2016 US election.

Andrew65 Must be an interesting read. 2y
60 likes5 stack adds1 comment
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Bookwormjillk
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Pickpick

This was an incredible book. The author followed three people from a closed factory in Indiana made famous when President Trump tweeted about it. The book which covered the former president‘s administration really looked at the issues faced by factory workers in a way you won‘t see on the news no matter what channel you watch. Highly recommend.

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Floresj
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Pickpick

Excellent reporting of the human impact of a factory closing in Indiana. I loved that Stockman, as a liberal, juxtaposes Democratic ideals with its impacts on labor. By following three different factory workers, we are given a wider view of the world than what we had when we begin the book. Excellent. (And that is my 100th book of the year, 5 years running!!!)

tenar Congratulations on 100 books! 🎉 3y
Megabooks 🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻 3y
15 likes4 stack adds2 comments