Roots of Steel by Deborah Rudacille

Roots of Steel

Boom and Bust in an American Mill Town

Deborah Rudacille

Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group · Print & ebook · August 23, 2011

As the American economy seeks to restructure itself, Roots of Steel is a powerful, candid, and eye-opening reminder of the people who have been left behind.

Buy on Amazon

We earn from qualifying purchases.

Who it’s for
Readers interested in the human impact of American manufacturing decline
Themes
Decline of American manufacturing, Working-class community, The American dream
Genres
Middle Atlantic History, Manufacturing Industry, Economic History

Nearest books

Matched by what the books are about, then ordered by what their readers also loved.

  1. Glass HouseBrian Alexander57% match
  2. SweatLynn Nottage56% match
  3. RivetheadBen Hamper56% match

For younger readers: Ashes of Roses, Shift Happens: the History of Labor in the United States, History Comics: the Great Depression

Start with three books, and this one can be the first.

Members get a new edition every morning: a route out from their books to essays, research and talks, with the reason for each.

Start with this book

About this book

As the American economy seeks to restructure itself, Roots of Steel is a powerful, candid, and eye-opening reminder of the people who have been left behind. When Deborah Rudacille was a child in the working-class town of Dundalk, Maryland, a worker at the local Sparrows Point steel mill made more than enough to comfortably support a family.

Continue reading

But the decline of American manufacturing in the decades since has put tens of thousands out of work and left the people of Dundalk pondering the broken promise of the American dream. In Roots of Steel, Rudacille combines personal narrative, interviews with workers, and extensive research to capture the character and history of this once-prosperous community.

Who it’s for

  • Readers interested in the human impact of American manufacturing decline
  • Readers interested in the history of Dundalk and its steel-mill community

Where it sits

Middle Atlantic History50%
Manufacturing Industry33%
Economic History24%

Percentages are BookFrontier’s reading of the book.

Publisher categories

  • Corporate Histories
  • 20th-Century America
  • Middle Atlantic History
Authors
Deborah Rudacille
Publisher
Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
Published
August 23, 2011
Format
Print & ebook
Theme
Decline of American manufacturing · Working-class community · The American dream
Reading lane
Corporate Histories