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Crisis In Bethlehem | 
 enlarge | Author: John Strohmeyer
Publisher: University of Pittsburgh Press
Category: Book
List Price: $19.95
Buy Used: $5.85
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Avg. Customer Rating:  3 reviews
Sales Rank: 556329
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 248
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.6
Dimensions (in): 8 x 5.5 x 0.5
ISBN: 0822958112
Dewey Decimal Number: 338.76691420974822
EAN: 9780822958116
ASIN: 0822958112
Publication Date: August 16, 1994
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Condition: SOME UNDERLINING, SOME OUTER COVER WEAR
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Product Description
Pulitzer Prize winner John Strohmeyer’s account of the collapse of Bethlehem Steel. As editor of the Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, Globe-Times from 1956 to 1984, Strohmeyer followed the steel industry from the height of its power through its decline. He evaluates the self-indulgence of both the unions and industry management and movingly describes the human agony caused by the failure of steel. His account is reinforced by over one hundred interviews with steelworkers, union leaders, steel executives, and industry analysts. First issued in 1986, the book is more significant than ever. In this edition, Strohmeyer includes an update on steel today.
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| Customer Reviews:
Excellent book on the downward spiral of a once mighty company December 18, 2005
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
I worked for Bethlehem Steel during the latter time period that this book covers and I knew some of the players Strohmeyer mentioned. No one could have better described the times and circumstances that brought down this mammoth company as well this book did. Unfortunately, Strohmeyer died before the bitter end of Bethlehem Steel and so was not able to chronicle it's dying moments. At 99 years old, Bethlehem ceased to exist on December 31, 2003. The company's plants and other assets were either donated to a historical society or purchased at pennnies on the dollar by International Steel Group, a newly formed steel company which successfully revived several bankrupt steel companies and merged them together into a cohesive business. International Steel Group was subsequently purchased by Mittal Steel of the Netherlands and designated Mittal Steel USA. The old Bethlehem plants continue to operate under the new owner. This book is a fascinating, easy to read chronicle of corporate blundering so profound that one wonders how the company lasted for nearly a century. Sadly, even in its last days, Bethlehem managers simply couldn't fathom the drastic changes that were needed to save the company.
A Sad Story... and a personal one. November 9, 2004
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
Bethlehem Steel is a huge part of my family history. My mother, father and both of their fathers all were employed for many years by this once-great company. Complacency seems too mild a word for what ailed this company. This book documents the fall of Bethlehem Steel [inventor of the H-beam... predecessor to the I-beam necessary for many of the tall buildings and skyscrapers we have today]. I really like this book but I am probably biased as I grew up in Baltimore, MD and Bethelehem, PA. Billy Joel even wrote a song about the influence of this company [not a pretty picture] in his song "Allentown". There's a lot of history here and a lot of explanation for why I had to leave all my childhood friends behind when the company started falling apart.
A Must-Read for US Industries - Now We Need an Epilogue September 29, 2004
7 out of 7 found this review helpful
This was a fascinating page-turner, written by someone who was intimately familiar with Bethlehem Steel because he lived in its home town for decades, serving as the editor of the local paper. One of the best non-fiction (I almost didn't qualify this statement with that word) books I've read in a long time. Now that The Steel is gone forever, I'd love to be able to persuade Mr. Strohmeyer to write a companion volume to this one telling us just how the end came, in the same detailed analytic manner. We might be able to learn from others' mistakes. The failure of this once great company is a tragedy and is a sad example of what happens when American labor, management, and government all become too arrogant and complacent. Bye-bye profits. Bye-bye jobs. What's next? Bye-bye national defense? If steel was The Basic Industry, then everyone working in industrial America needs to read this book. Sooner or later, you'll probably deal with some of the issues raised here.
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