... a gripping portrait of the human costs incurred when industries decline. [Stockman's] book is a stark warning to towns and countries facing similar trends, and a lesson in how much economists can miss.

Stockman not only tells [her subjects'] stories, from childhood to how they ended up at Rexnord to the years after the closure, but she becomes close enough to all three to get them to open up about their dreams, fears, disappointments and secrets. Their candor in the midst of upheaval and pain allows Stockman, and the reader, to see the world 'through the steelworkers' eyes.

This richly detailed account focuses on just one factory in one city, but it still manages to capture the human impacts of outsourcing, automation, and the decline of factory trades.

... vivid and empathetic.

... immersive.