cover image Making It in America

Making It in America

Jerry Jasinowski. Simon & Schuster, $24.5 (350pp) ISBN 978-0-671-50756-5

Whipsawed by inflation and unable to sell products consumers didn't want, U.S. manufacturing was largely written off during the 1970s. By the '90s, it had enjoyed an economic renaissance, becoming ``the fundamental reason why America's economic sun is shining.'' Jasinowski (president, National Association of Manufacturers) and Hamrin (America's New Economy: The Basic Guide) here explain manufacturing's successful metamorphosis. Drawing on 50 cases, from the high-tech (Intel) to the mundane (Lincoln Electric), the authors maintain that manufacturing companies have been succeeding because of their commitment to worker empowerment, customer satisfaction, finding new markets, environmentalism and the pursuit of new organizational structures. Their analysis augments our understanding of manufacturing's pivotal role in the U.S. economy. (Mar.)