Empty Mills: The Fight Against Imports and the Decline of the U.S. Textile Industry

by Timothy J. Minchin

With the economy struggling, there has been much discussion about the effects of deindustrialization on American manufacturing. While the steel and auto industries have taken up most of the spotlight, the textile and apparel industries have been profoundly affected. In Empty Mills, Timothy Minchin provides the first book length study of how both industries have suffered since WWII and the unwavering efforts of industry supporters to prevent that decline. In 1985, the textile industry accounted for one in eight manufacturing jobs, and unlike the steel and auto industries, more than fifty percent of the workforce was women or minorities. In the last four decades over two million jobs have been lost in the textile and apparel industries alone as more and more of the manufacturing moves overseas. Impeccably well researched, providing information on both the history and current trends, Empty Mills will be of importance to anyone interested in economics, labor, the social historical, as well as the economic significance of the decline of one of America s biggest industries.

592 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2012

About the author

Timothy J. Minchin is professor of history and deputy head of the School of Historical and European Studies at La Trobe University. He is a recipient of the Richard A. Lester Prize from Princeton University and a Fellow of the Australian Academy of the Humanities. He has published widely on recent American history, especially that of the southern states. He lives in Melbourne, Australia.

Reviews

[Athena Buxton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very informative, but can be dry for anyone not already interested in the history of textile mills.