Books Sandwiched In starts the new year welcoming Dr. Zach McKenney for a consideration of Janesville: An American Story by Amy Goldstein, Wednesday, January 23, noon–1:00 in the East Tennessee History Center auditorium at 601 South Gay Street.

"Amy Goldstein provides a harrowing account of the human consequences of plant shutdowns and the rippling effects that they have throughout affected communities," McKenney said.

Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter Amy Goldstein spent years immersed in Janesville, Wisconsin, where the nation’s oldest operating General Motors assembly plant shut down in the midst of the Great Recession. With intelligence, sympathy, and insight into what connects and divides people in an era of economic upheaval, Goldstein shows the consequences of one of America’s biggest political issues. Her reporting takes the reader deep into the lives of autoworkers, educators, bankers, politicians, and job re-trainers to show why it’s so hard in the twenty-first century to recreate a healthy, prosperous working class.

"Janesville is not so much an economic treatise on deindustrialization as it is a stunning ethnography of the tragedy and resiliency of a small Midwestern town," McKenney said. "Goldstein’s book will forever change the way you react when the next corporation announces its plans to cut jobs and shutter factories."

McKenney is a lecturer at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville where he received his doctorate in sociology with a concentration in political economy and globalization. His dissertation was about the evolving relationship between states, corporations, and trade unions in the current era of neoliberal globalization. His research interests include social movements, social theory, qualitative research methods, and experiential learning.

Books Sandwiched In is made possible by the generous support of the Friends of Knox County Public Library (link is external). Bring a sandwich or pick up something at a downtown restaurant. Drinks will be available for 50 cents.

Upcoming Programs

February 27: Clarence Vaughn, Executive Director, Police Advisory and Review Committee – discussing The Black and the Blue: A Cop Reveals the Crimes, Racism, and Injustice in America's Law Enforcement by Matthew Horace

March 27: Kelsey Ellis, UT Department of Geography – discussing The Cure for Catastrophe: How We Can Stop Manufacturing Natural Disasters by Robert Muir-Wood

April 24: Dr. Maria Campa, UT's Institute for a Secure and Sustainable Environment - discussing Saudi America: The Truth about Fracking and How It's Changing the World by Bethany McLean