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

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.

Binding Type: Hardcover
Publisher: Little Brown and Company
Published: 07/15/2014
ISBN: 9780316231435
Pages: 464
Weight: 1.60lbs
Size: 9.30h x 6.40w x 1.70d
Award: ALA Notable Books - Winner
Award: Pat Conroy Southern Book Prize - Winner

Review Citations: Publishers Weekly 03/17/2014
Library Journal 06/15/2014 pg. 102
Kirkus Reviews 07/01/2014
Booklist 07/01/2014 pg. 18
New York Times Book Review 08/17/2014 pg. 14
New York Times Book Review 08/24/2014 pg. 30
Publishers Weekly Best Books 11/03/2014 pg. 37
NY Times Notable Bks of Year 12/07/2014 pg. 28
Kirkus Best Nonfiction 12/01/2014 pg. 35