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.