Factory Man - Beth Macy

Factory Man

By Beth Macy

  • Release Date: 2014-07-15
  • Genre: Biographies & Memoirs
4 Score: 4 (From 77 Ratings)

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Book Synopsis

The instant New York Times bestseller about one man's battle to save hundreds of jobs by demonstrating the greatness of American business.

The Bassett Furniture Company was once the world's biggest wood furniture manufacturer. Run by the same powerful Virginia family for generations, it was also the center of life in Bassett, Virginia. But beginning in the 1980s, the first waves of Asian competition hit, and ultimately Bassett was forced to send its production overseas.

One man fought back: John Bassett III, a shrewd and determined third-generation factory man, now chairman of Vaughan-Bassett Furniture Co, which employs more than 700 Virginians and has sales of more than $90 million. In Factory Man, Beth Macy brings to life Bassett's deeply personal furniture and family story, along with a host of characters from an industry that was as cutthroat as it was colorful. As she shows how he uses legal maneuvers, factory efficiencies, and sheer grit and cunning to save hundreds of jobs, she also reveals the truth about modern industry in America.

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Latest Impressions

  • Factory Man

    4
    By David Kaplan
    Since I spent my entire working life in the furniture industry I knew most of the chapters in the book - I enjoyed it immensely.

  • Factory Man

    5
    By MagicMan9.19
    One of the most thorough, transparent, looks into such an important part of our nations history. Well done, well done, well done!

  • A page-turning account of a gripping and untold American story

    5
    By Linzeeloops
    A page-turning account of a gripping and untold American story

  • God bless JBIII

    5
    By Hog Coach
    I was born in Bassett VA. and this is the story of the birth and death of my home town. Factory Man is also the story of 63,000 American factories closed by exporters who continue to dump their products on our country and take our jobs and I future. Read it and learn a lesson.

  • FACTORY MAN

    5
    By hoperea
    Thoroughly enjoyed FACTORY MAN -- definitely not a dull try business book. Learn about the state of manufacturing in the USA -- definitely will make you stop and think about our future!

  • Factory Man

    5
    By Bookgirl67
    The first line of "Factory Man" is "Once in a reporter's life career, if one is very lucky, a person like John D. Bassett lll comes along." And if that reporter is Beth Macy, who never stops digging for the facts and is a great storyteller to boot, you've got a book you won't be able to put down. The book tells the story of how globalisation affects the lives of everyone from the heads of furniture manufacturing empires to their maids and chauffeurs, from the factory workers to civic leaders in small towns across the South. Billed as a business book, you might be expecting a dry analysis of economic trends. No! No! Meet John D. Bassett lll, a rich party boy in college, gutsy and bull-headed enough to buck industry trends and, well, I won't tell you what happens. Just don't miss that this book.

  • An absolute great read.

    5
    By Dan71plt3
    I just bought the book yesterday and cannot put it down. A fascinating and fresh perspective on the topic.

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