The Almost Impossible Quest to Manufacture in the U.S.A. (and How It Got That Way)
Out now! Order your copy here.
From Rachel’s op-ed in the New York Times:
I inherited my father’s “made in the U.S.A.” credo, obsessively hunting for labels, flipping over plates and chairs and turning clothes inside-out to find a country of origin. Which is how, over the ensuing decades, I became exquisitely aware that much of the stuff I bought was no longer made in the U.S.A. Everything from my Gap sweatshirts in the ’90s to my clunky desktop in the early aughts, and eventually to my refrigerator and dishwasher, was made elsewhere….
#1 on Cosmopolitan magazine’s Best Nonfiction Books in 2024
#2 on Malcolm Gladwell’s Next Big Idea Club’s 40 Nonfiction Books to Look Out for in 2024
Financial Times Top Business Books to Read in 2024
Publishers Weekly Top 10 Pick in Business and Economics
Lit Hub’s “What Should You Read Next?” best reviewed books
Publishers Weekly starred review
”Slade explores the imprint that decades of neoliberalism and offshoring has left on America’s worker and economic resilience through the Waxmans’ compelling story. Made-in-USA enthusiasts and free-trade hawks alike will be rooting for this couple to succeed.”
“Slade’s book gives a granular sense of just how hard it is for business owners, particularly those in manufacturing, to do the right thing by their workers in America today. It also conveys just how meaningful and rewarding building a truly ethical business can be, for owners and workers alike.”
“By following the Waxmans over years as they build their business — and more than once come close to losing everything — Slade tells a story of trade, globalization, capital, labor and the political choices that have led to American manufacturing’s decline, and makes an impassioned case for its return.”
—The New York Times
“Americans’ future depends on a manufacturing revival,” Ms. Slade insists. There’s certainly a plausible argument to be made for that.
—The Wall Street Journal
“This galvanizing call for Americans ‘to start making things for themselves’ serves as both a sweeping report on a globalized industry and a practical road map for aspiring small-scale manufacturers. Readers will feel invigorated.”
“Sexy and exciting … reading it is like seeing the American Dream play out in real time.”
“A knowledgeable indictment of failed American trade and labor policies, Rachel Slade's timely book, powered by her admirable skills as a storyteller, also provides a much-needed glimpse of a potentially fairer, more equitable future for American workers and consumers.”
— Philip Dray, author of There is Power in a Union: The Epic Story of Labor in America
Making It in America is a moving and eye-opening look at the story of manufacturing in America, whether it can ever successfully return to our shores, and why our nation depends on it, told through the experience of one young couple in Maine as they attempt to rebuild a lost industry, ethically. From the best-selling author of Into the Raging Sea.
Ben Waxman spent a decade organizing workers in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Wisconsin, fighting for men and women at a time when national support for unions had sunk to an all-time low. Frustrated with the state of the world, he lands back in his hometown of Portland, Maine, to rethink his life. There, he meets Whitney Reynolds, a restless bartender eager for a challenge. In each other, they see a better future, a version of the American dream they can build together.
Ben and Whitney set out to prove that union-made, all-American-sourced apparel manufacturing is possible in the 21st century. Their quest takes us across the nation and across time, from the cotton fields of Mississippi to the hollowed-out garment district in New York City to a family-owned zipper company in Los Angeles to the enormous knit-and-dye houses in North Carolina. While battling anti-immigrant hostility, trade wars, and a global pandemic, they grapple with the true meaning of made-in-USA in our globalized world.
Making It in America offers a fascinating new take on free-trade economics and manufacturing history. Woven through the Waxmans’ story is the essential story of textiles and their critical role in shaping capitalism. It was the demand for cheap cloth that sparked the industrial revolution. It was the brutal conditions in New England's textile mills that first drove workers to organize. Making It in America is a deeply personal account of how individual choices shape a nation. Each touchpoint casts a rare, compassionate look at what came before, where we are now, and where we’re going—through the people, places, and ecologies that produce the fabric of our lives.
More praise for Making It in America
“Slade’s book gives a granular sense of just how hard it is for business owners, particularly those in manufacturing, to do the right thing by their workers in America today. It also conveys just how meaningful and rewarding building a truly ethical business can be, for owners and workers alike.”
“In this biography of a business and its founders, Slade (Into the Raging Sea, 2018) both provides a wealth of background information on the rise and fall of manufacturing in America and tells a story of rebellious entrepreneurship, one full of hope, determination, and the American spirit.”
— Booklist
“Excellent… Making It in America is a treasure trove of fascinating, relevant historical information—a Buy American manifesto disguised as a narrative. It’s both a delight and an education to see how Rachel puts all the information together and how she chooses to construct it.”
— Greg Olear, Prevail podcast and newsletter, author of Dirty Rubles
“Automation, outsourcing, mergers & acquisitions, and private equity are frequently mentioned reasons for the most recent set of problems. When politicians and academics discuss these topics, the language is usually too vitriolic or dry. Those wanting an insightful look at the topic should pick up journalist Rachel Slade’s Making It In America. She isn’t without strong opinions but backs them up with solid reportage and historical research.
Slade’s goal is as follows: ‘The stakes are sky-high. If Americans want to control their fate, if they want to innovate, if they want to forge an ethical future, if they really care about the environment and each other, then they need to start making things for themselves.’”
—FTC Watch
"Those looking to confirm their anti-capitalist biases will no doubt find Making It in America a gripping read."
—The National Review ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Listen to Rachel discuss Making It with Anna Staver on NPR’s Columbus, Ohio affiliate, WOSU.
“When so many of the things that we buy are now made overseas, the question of whether manufacturing in America can ever make a comeback is a big one. A couple in Maine is attempting a seemingly impossible feat: making an all American-sourced hoodie. They're desperate to prove ethical manufacturing is possible, and their journey takes you from New York City's garment district all the way to a family-run zipper company in LA. It's an enlightening look at the history of manufacturing in America and how we got to where we are today.”
Slade’s key insight, and possibly the strongest argument for reviving domestic manufacturing, is that it is how we innovate. ‘You need to know what works to imagine what is possible,’ she writes. It’s by confronting the limitations of the materials and the current processes that you put yourself in a position to come up with the breakthroughs that will define the future. It’s perhaps the best reason we have for making things.”
“At turns rousing and heartbreaking, Making It in America takes the reader on a journey that is both encyclopedic and intimate, through the wastelands of America’s lost manufacturing might, and the jobs, families and communities that were crushed in the process. As we ride on the shoulders of Ben and Whitney Waxman, who wanted nothing more than to make a sweatshirt ethically in America and pay their workers a fair wage, Slade’s revelatory account brings home the greed and immense global forces bearing down on average Americans, and how a plucky duo battled to retain their integrity.”
— Katherine Eban, author of Bottle of Lies: The Inside Story of the Generic Drug Boom
Watch and listen to Rachel Slade talk about Making It
Rachel spoke to Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Farah Stockman about “Making It'“ for C-SPAN/BookTV (60 min)
Rachel was featured in “Made In America” with longtime Maine Public Radio journalist Keith Shortall (50 min)