Factory Man: How One Furniture Maker Battled Offshoring, Stayed Local - and Helped Save an American Town

Factory Man about Bassett, Virginia..actually about the Bassett family who at one time was Bassett, Virginia is a spell bounding read. I love the way Beth Macy built the town from the ground up with each family generation. The history of the family members and their drive to make something of the family and the town could be about many towns in America but this story is about the farm land and farmers along with slaves becoming furniture businesses on an international level. The family did not always agree on who was to run the different furniture factories...cousins and in-laws against blood-born Bassetts were often at odds with each other which made this read like fiction. The town of Bassett became a boom town due to good management and a love for the business and dedication to the workers. The workers were also dedicated to the business since money was good and no longer days in the hot sun and rain raising cotton in the fields. The mansions were built on the hill away from Smith River enough to get out of the flood plain but within seeing distance of the factories and the smokestacks. The railroad was built through Basset and this added to the prosperity. Wood was plentiful in the hills surrounding the county and life became better for all living within the area....until along came the Japanese, the Chinese, the Vietnamese, etc. who could buy the wood, have it shipped and make the furniture ad ship back to the US for a much less price...Whoa be gone one factory, then two, then three...workers lost their jobs; poverty set in for many in Bassett and surrounding furniture producing areas. It became a political game to keep making furniture in America and JBIII was the man to get it done. He is a funny, determined, goal-driven man with a fight on his hands. A truly great character in the history of the furniture business and Bassett, Virginia. This is a marvelous history book written by a newspaper woman who get to the heart of the furniture business and the family. YOU will love this book if you like to read stories about our nation's road to prosperity, industry and family legends. I got my book downloaded onto my Kindle from Amazon. Get yours now and then look at the bottom or back of your furniture to see where it was made.

Informative read about a slice of transitioning to a world economy. As a new resident of Roanoke Valley the book provided detail about the area while relating challenges faced by American manufacturing over the last 60 years.

Terrific. Read it in two nights and just loved it. I couldn't help but recommend to friends as soon as I finished it. . I have to admit I saw in interview of Beth Macy and JBIII on CSPAN and after that I was just hooked. I ordered the book immediately. If you want to read a book, based on fact, relevant to so many things that are happening today with the continued demise of American factories, that gives you insight into the mindset of the power brokers around the world, and the bravado, deceit, jealousy that corrupts and breaks apart our internal worlds , our families .. that also happens to have an old time hero , a fully rounded character of a man with his own set of shortcomings , but made tall by his courage ,boldness, and heartfelt loyalty to his community, workers, someone you just can't help but fall in love with in the end ;;; read this book.. I am sure JBIII will continue to have a huge fan club rallying around him after this book. Hopefully enough to block out the naysayers and the distributors who won't carry Vaughn Bassett.. After reading this book I made a conscious effort once again to try and buy American. I wish someone would make it easier to do that! Thanks so much for this gift of a book Beth Macy,,and thank you for being you JBIII..and not giving into corporate greed and standing up for social responsibility!

What an interesting and great story, told superbly by the author. I have been involved in the furniture industry for 24+ years, working for both the importers and the domestic manufactures. I have lived through the "furniture tariff wars" and I watched the industry create a "civil war" like atmosphere. The story that Beth Macy tells is well researched and truthful. However, it is the picture of the personal losses, fortitude, courage and hardships that she paints, that is so mesmerizing. Anyone who has not been sleeping under a rock for the last 25 years, has heard all of the benefits of "globalization" to the American consumer. While a global economy is an unstoppable force, there are "equal and opposite forces" that should be considered. Factory Man brings the "globalization" down to a personal level. Read the book to see just how real people, and entire communities, can be devastated by jobs lost to Asian companies which are subsidized by their governments. The fight that John Bassett III put up to save his factories, keep the company's employees working and keep those communities alive, is nothing less than heroic. This book would make an interesting Hollywood movie...

Un ouvrage qui étudie le cas de l'industrie du meuble américain, à travers l'histoire courageuse d'un héritier d'entreprise qui sauva son usine, et un peu sa région, en bataillant dur pour améliorer la compétitivité de son outil de travail, mais surtout en dénonçant le dumping chinois et obtenant des compensations financières, face à l'opposition des importateurs. Une enquête de terrain très formatrice.

Good experience.

Very well written

very well written and well researched story. The second part of the book is both exciting and very factual. A must read for those of us connected with the US furniture Industry and it's near total destruction of imports from China.