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Making It in America: The Almost Impossible Quest to Manufacture in the U.S.A. (And How It Got That Way)
Bottom of the pile
18
/100
I Index Overall Rating
Readers
20/100Critics
17/100Scholars
Author:
Rachel Slade
Publisher:
Pantheon
Date:
January 9, 2024
Meet Ben and Whitney Waxman, two tireless idealists attempting to do the impossible: produce an American-made, union-made, all American-sourced sweatshirtâan American hoodie. Ben spent a decade organizing workers in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Wisconsin, fighting for Americans at a time when national support for unions had sunk to an all-time low. Struggling with depression and a drug dependency, Ben lands back in his hometown of Portland, Maine, desperate to prove that ethical manufacturing is possible. There, he meets Whitney, a bartender wrestling with her own complicated past. In each other they see a better future, a version of the American dream they can build together.
What The Reviewers Say
Persuasive.
Her book benefits from extraordinary access, providing an up-close look at the challenges of manufacturing.
It’s disingenuous to pretend that a handful of mom-and-pop companies sewing hoodies and socks point the way to the revival of manufacturing in the U.S..
Readers of this engaging story will find themselves rooting for the plucky couple, and there can be no doubt that the success of American Roots is attributable to the energy of its founders..
