Rust Belt Reads

Various books about the origins and eventual collapse of various heavy manufacturing industries in the US Rust Belt, the ramifications of that collapse and how certain cities coped and retooled for a global economy.

flag

All Votes Add Books To This List

1	Janesville: An American Story by Amy Goldstein 4.09 avg rating — 7,555 ratings score: 499, and 5 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
2	Detroit: A Biography by Scott Martelle (Goodreads Author) 3.71 avg rating — 1,109 ratings score: 298, and 3 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
3	Exit Zero: Family and Class in Postindustrial Chicago by Christine J. Walley 4.04 avg rating — 126 ratings score: 294, and 3 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
4	Detroit: An American Autopsy by Charlie LeDuff 3.94 avg rating — 15,779 ratings score: 292, and 3 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
5	Stayin’ Alive: The 1970s and the Last Days of the Working Class by Jefferson R. Cowie 4.11 avg rating — 968 ratings score: 279, and 3 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
6	Blood on the Forge by William Attaway 3.82 avg rating — 571 ratings score: 278, and 3 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
7	Crisis In Bethlehem by John Strohmeyer 3.96 avg rating — 57 ratings score: 197, and 2 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
8	And the Wolf Finally Came: The Decline and Fall of the American Steel Industry (Pitt Series in Social and Labor History) by John Hoerr 4.13 avg rating — 83 ratings score: 195, and 2 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
9	Factory Man: How One Furniture Maker Battled Offshoring, Stayed Local - and Helped Save an American Town by Beth Macy (Goodreads Author) 3.86 avg rating — 2,938 ratings score: 191, and 2 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
10	Voices from the Rust Belt by Anne Trubek (Goodreads Author) (Editor) 3.68 avg rating — 309 ratings score: 187, and 2 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
11	The Origins of the Urban Crisis: Race and Inequality in Postwar Detroit by Thomas J. Sugrue 4.24 avg rating — 2,205 ratings score: 186, and 2 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
12	The Ones Who Hit the Hardest: The Steelers, the Cowboys, the '70s, and the Fight for America's Soul by Chad Millman 3.95 avg rating — 576 ratings score: 183, and 2 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
13	Detroit City Is the Place to Be: The Afterlife of an American Metropolis by Mark Binelli (Goodreads Author) 3.84 avg rating — 2,077 ratings score: 181, and 2 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
14	Steel: The Story of Pittsburgh's Iron and Steel Industry 1852 - 1902 by Dale Richard Perelman 4.10 avg rating — 78 ratings score: 176, and 2 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
15	Out of This Furnace by Thomas Bell 3.79 avg rating — 1,839 ratings score: 168, and 2 people voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
16	Population: 485 by Michael Perry (Goodreads Author) 3.93 avg rating — 5,873 ratings score: 100, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
16	Steel: From Mine to Mill, the Metal that Made America by Brooke C. Stoddard 4.09 avg rating — 70 ratings score: 100, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
16	Soul Full of Coal Dust: A Fight for Breath and Justice in Appalachia by Chris Hamby 4.31 avg rating — 757 ratings score: 100, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
19	Once In A Great City: A Detroit Story by David Maraniss (Goodreads Author) 3.79 avg rating — 1,867 ratings score: 99, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
19	American Steel by Richard Preston 4.13 avg rating — 262 ratings score: 99, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
19	Desperate: An Epic Battle for Clean Water and Justice in Appalachia by Kris Maher (Goodreads Author) 4.10 avg rating — 196 ratings score: 99, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
22	Steel Town by Jonah Winter 3.42 avg rating — 142 ratings score: 98, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
22	American Made: What Happens to People When Work Disappears by Farah Stockman 4.31 avg rating — 1,436 ratings score: 98, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
24	Boom, Bust, Exodus: The Rust Belt, the Maquilas, and a Tale of Two Cities by Chad Broughton (Goodreads Author) 4.15 avg rating — 197 ratings score: 97, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
25	Their Life's Work: The Brotherhood of the 1970s Pittsburgh Steelers, Then and Now by Gary M. Pomerantz (Goodreads Author) 4.43 avg rating — 695 ratings score: 96, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
25	The Hard Way on Purpose: Essays and Dispatches from the Rust Belt by David Giffels (Goodreads Author) 3.95 avg rating — 495 ratings score: 96, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
27	Rust Belt Chic: The Cleveland Anthology by Richey Piiparinen (Editor) 3.94 avg rating — 113 ratings score: 95, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
28	Roots of Steel: Boom and Bust in an American Mill Town by Deborah Rudacille 3.80 avg rating — 75 ratings score: 94, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
28	Harvey Pekar's Cleveland by Harvey Pekar 3.97 avg rating — 1,355 ratings score: 94, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
30	The Fall of an American Rome: Deindustrialization of the American Dream by Quentin R. Skrabec Jr. 3.50 avg rating — 2 ratings score: 93, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
31	American Splendor and More American Splendor: The Life and Times of Harvey Pekar by Harvey Pekar 4.03 avg rating — 6,936 ratings score: 92, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
32	Made in Detroit: A Memoir by Paul Clemens 3.22 avg rating — 453 ratings score: 91, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
33	Devil's Night: And Other True Tales of Detroit by Ze'ev Chafets 3.62 avg rating — 257 ratings score: 90, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
34	Rivethead: Tales from the Assembly Line by Ben Hamper 4.01 avg rating — 1,766 ratings score: 89, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
35	Teardown: Memoir of a Vanishing City by Gordon Young 3.99 avg rating — 212 ratings score: 87, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
36	Making Steel: Sparrows Point and the Rise and Ruin of American Industrial Might by Mark Reutter 4.07 avg rating — 27 ratings score: 83, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
37	Wives of Steel: Voices of Women from the Sparrows Point Steelmaking Communities by Karen Olson 3.67 avg rating — 9 ratings score: 82, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
38	Blast Furnaces of Sparrows Point One Hundred Years of Ironmaking on Chesapeake Bay by John B. Lovis 4.50 avg rating — 2 ratings score: 81, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
39	Capital Moves: RCA's Seventy-Year Quest for Cheap Labor by Jefferson R. Cowie 3.79 avg rating — 155 ratings score: 79, and 1 person voted	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars