Janesville: An American Story
| Industry | Publishing |
|---|---|
| Products | Books |
Janesville: An American Story is a factual account authored by Amy Goldstein and released by Simon & Schuster in 2017. The book explores the consequences of the 2008 shutdown of the Janesville Assembly Plant on the working-class population of Janesville, Wisconsin, covering the period from 2008 to 2013.
Reception
In 2017, this work was honored as a leading publication by The Economist, The New York Times, and The Washington Post. Additionally, it was included among former President Barack Obama's preferred reads for that year.
The book earned the 2018 J. Anthony Lukas Book Prize as well as the 2017 Financial Times and McKinsey Business Book of the Year Award. The Lukas Prize recognized its thorough storytelling approach that merges investigative journalism with social science to depict the lives of workers, political figures, educators, business executives, and a community endeavoring to adjust.
Patti Waldmeir from The Financial Times remarked that Janesville "brings a human face to the hardships experienced by America's white working class," offering an essential viewpoint for interpreting recent political developments. Jennifer Senior of The New York Times described it as "emotionally compelling and exceptionally well-documented."
While Michael Barone writing for The Wall Street Journal pointed out a tendency favoring unions, he also conceded the book's overall impartiality. Positive critiques were also provided by Joshua Rothman in The New Yorker and Arlie Hochschild in The Washington Post.
Often discussed alongside titles such as Hochschild's Strangers in Their Own Land, J. D. Vance's Hillbilly Elegy, and Joan C. Williams' White Working Class, Janesville contributes to an expanding collection of literature addressing the decline of America's working class, noted particularly for its rich narrative detail and insightful analysis.