Nonfiction Review: Janesville

My mistake has been proven again! As is often the case, one of my bookstores took a book that I had no interest in reading, but once I started, I really liked it. This time, the book is Janesville .

Janesville is an active and prosperous city in rural Wisconsin. GM opened the plant in February 1923 and the assembly plant has been in operation for more than 80 years. It grew to 4.8 million square feet and employed more than 7,000 people. And on December 23, 2008, the last car left the assembly line. This book covers a little bit of the history of the Geneva plant and the city, but it is mostly about what happened after the closure of the GM factory. The author tells this story through a series of locals, many of whom have worked in the factory for years and are suddenly unemployed, but who are trying to help the GMMs. The characters in this story are all different. Some have found other jobs, although in recent years GM has been a major part of the economy, and companies that supply other goods or services to factories have had to be fired or laid off. Some return to local colleges for re-training with support and other resources. Others could not accept a sudden pay cut and agreed to move to another GM factory, which meant only working days and very long trips to see their families on weekends. For the first time in their lives, many families benefit from charitable and food aid. The effects of factory closures are widespread and long-lasting, and the authors examine why cities have not been able to survive such disruptive changes. He saw not only the economic situation but also the political and social situation and he felt sorry for the real people involved in this tragedy.

Despite my doubts and hopes for a dry future, I was immediately drawn to this fascinating and heartbreaking story. The author has done a lot of research and talked not only with his staff but also with other members of the community, including bankers, local college leaders, politicians and others. It shows the complexity and complexity of these people and systems in the city in a very effective way and explains that there are no easy answers. And by focusing on real individuals and families (not only staff but also spouses and children) it understands the deepest emotions and limited and tragic options for results. At the end of the book, five years after the factory closed, some people have recovered or found new ways for themselves, but many have not. According to the translation, this is not just about the history of a special city, but about the history of cities and similar situations in the United States. This book is well written and insightful and has been the subject of much discussion in our book group.

297 pages Simon and Schuster

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For the first time, my novel is a test for non-fiction readers, ED in the Economics category.

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