American Steel

by Richard Preston

A report on the resurrection of an American Dream provides a glimmer of hope on the seemingly barren economic horizon with the story of an Indiana steel company that is aiming to restore some of the 300,000 jobs lost in that industry over the past decade. Reprint.

Genres: Business, History, Nonfiction, Science, Audiobook

278 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1991

About the author

Richard Preston is a journalist and nonfiction writer.

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.

Reviews

[Patrick Peterson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book about 1992 and remember really enjoying it.
So much so, that I scheduled a meeting and actually met with the focus of the book, Ken Iverson, not long afterwards.

Ken Iverson had been an entrepreneurial hero of mine for quite a while. He was a man who founded and expanded a steel business in the US at exactly the same time that the old, huge steel companies were losing money, contracting and laying off 100s of thousands of employees.

He ran a non-union shop in a union dominated industry. He paid average wages well ABOVE the union scale. His employees were not interested in forming unions. He paid on productivity, and his workers all contributed to increased productivity by design and by pay.

He opposed tariffs on steel, or any other product.

He opposed government subsidies for businesses.

He was true to his principles.
He hired thousands, and most loved him.
I saved and am looking at now a full page Wall St. Journal tribute to him from 17 April 2002, shortly after he died.
Many tributes were included, but the following one reads:
"He was our leader, our inspiration, and our friend. Nucor's 8,400 employees are saddened by his passing, but committed to his principals (sp). The results of his efforts live on at Nucor, and will serve as our compass in the years ahead. NUCOR"

This book is about him and his work as a "hot steel man" creating Nucor, a fantastic tale of greatness.

24 Aug. 2019 - I am very sorry to have to edit this review to say that it has become clear that the management that followed Ken Iverson at Nucor did NOT follow his principles at all. They have been thick as thieves in working with the Trump administration to impose steel tariffs on the American public. In addition to (or because of?) that, the company has become far less productive and less profitable than in the Iverson days. So sad. Violating their pledge to stay committed to Iverson's principles, is a keen demonstration of the folly of dishonesty and supporting tariffs!

[James Davidson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Richard Preston always delivers for me. I had read this book many years ago, and thought it was time for a refresh. Preston basically does a tour de Rust Belt, making Big Steel the enemy and setting up Nucor as our anti-union, risk-taking, pure hustle heroes. While I do tire of the narrative by the end of the book, Preston writes in such a present active way, that you feel the heat coming off the arc melters, and you get a twinge of a headache after a description of the all-night bachelor parties at the local watering hole. This drives the narrative, and makes this book still worth the read, even after a quick check of the Nucor website reveals that they currently have 9 Executive Vice-Presidents.

[Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

"A failure is a particularly dangerous time for a company, and must be handled with great skill. If people at higher levels come down on an employee and say, 'You goofed up,' it can kill all initiative at a company."

"So how do you handle someone who does goof?" I asked.

Aycock [a senior officer of Nucor] put his hands flat on his desk and eyed me in a way that suggested he thought I was an idiot. "You give him something new to do!" he said in a fla...[see the rest on my book review site.]

[William Thomson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very fun read that provides excellent insight into the challenges faced by Nucor in its attempts to disrupt the US Steel Industry during the 1980s and 1990s.

Worth reading by anyone interested in the messy process of disrupting a physical (as opposed to digital) industry. Characters are presented in full color, and the story is as hot as the liquid steel the narrative focuses on.

[Melody Kief · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book many years ago. What could have been a boring book about industry read like a suspense novel. It impacted me so much that I found myself choosing this company as a report in a college finance class. Nucor was the first stock I ever purchased because of this book. Nucor is regularly in the news and I'm constantly brought back to this book.

[Autumn Kearney · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had no idea how much work went into making steel or a facility like that one. I appreciated the detailed insights, which made me feel more connected to the topic. This book was well written and made sense to me, and I am guessing its target audience. There was much profanity at the local bar, though. That part made me cringe, since I am so sensitive to it.

[Mary Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good story but not much use for business instruction. I would not recommend doing things "the Nucor way" but it was fun to read about.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good read, but it bounces around a lot and is sometimes hard to follow.

[John H · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well written but way too much about the bosses.

[Brandon · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a civil engineer I found the book enlightening. Wonderfully written.

[Kathy Wang · Rating 3 out of 5]

Got a bit repetitive by the end and used to more in-depth character vignettes but pretty cool snapshot of a past American time and place.

[Tony Noland · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book is well written and engaging as it tells the story of how a steel company built a revolutionary new manufacturing plant in the middle of an Indiana cornfield. The narrative style is compelling and immediate, using a novelist's flair to make the people and events come alive. You really do come to care about the company and its David vs. Goliath quest to best the giants of the world steel industry at their own game.

However, it feels a little thin. There are long sections which are spent talking about the history of the company, different products it made over the past 100 years, and the biographical details of the various men who ran it, or who nearly ran it into the ground. These are engaging in their own way, but they make the book feel like a long magazine article that has been fleshed out to book length.

There's quite a bit of technical information on steel making, as you might expect. It's all discussed in layman's terms, which makes it accessible, but even for someone interested in the subject, it's a bit esoteric.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful look at the modern steel industry (as of the 1990s) by a writer not normally known for his industrial writing ... Preston is actually a scientific writer, who normally focuses on diseases and things like that, but turns out to be the perfect observer about the building of a new "mini-mill" in Indiana that threatens to directly compete with the large old-style steel mills in the Rust Belt. Very vivid descriptions, especially about the dangers of a mill, but also very strong personality sketches of the various real people who fill the book. Highly recommended.

[Kerry Trombley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Loved the beginning. Loved the end. But it dragged in the middle with unimportant details in the middle...about people, places, and processes that jumped around a lot from one to another.

I really enjoyed reading about the analysis of Nucor's culture and how they were able to be lean and compete with big steel and grow into a mature and profitable company. Iverson identified talent, set bold goals, and allowed them to do their job without much management. I would have loved to see in the book more about the business side, and less about bar room brawls.

[Lamec Mariita · Rating 4 out of 5]

American Steel is a comeback story of the American Steel Industry. Nucor Corporation has a wild idea about building a plant in tiny Crawfordsville, Indiana, and beat Big Steel and Japan at the same time with non-union labor. They pulled off one of the greatest stories in industrial America. Though the writing style is fairly simple the story itself is fabulous and I wouldn't believe it if I didn't know it was true.

[Beverly Hollandbeck · Rating 4 out of 5]

This look at the steel industry was even more fascinating to me because I live in Indiana, where the steel mill is. No one could ever have persuaded me that a book about a mill could be interesting. I just read it because I know Preston to be an extraordinary non-fiction writer. Like a fiction writer, he provides a setting, characters, a great story line, and suspense.

[bookreader]

A parable of the 1980s American industrial renaissance that reads like a suspense novel, this is the story of how Nucor built the world's lowest-cost steel mill in an Indiana cornfield. An out-of-print business classic from a John McPhee disciple, hence the writing is superb and the technical explanations are clear & captivating.

[Charles Robbins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Preston is a master -- as good as any creative nonfiction writer out there. This book, when excerpted in the New Yorker, rightly drew massive buzz. My college roommate still gives copies to his investment banking staffers.

[Charley Duschen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent. I worked in proximity to steel makers, handlers, coilers, and slitters. I was impressed by what goes into building a new steel making facility. I was disappointed by the way the employees were portrayed.

[Mara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Innovative industrialist inspires!

[Julian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Like any Richard Preston book, this book is strong in all senses and should be read by the older hand of life. However, for people like me, I can't resist...

[Todd · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was included in my book: The 100 Best Business Books of All Time. www.100bestbiz.com

[Mark · Rating 5 out of 5]

Even if you've never even thought about where steel comes from, reading this gripping story is an unforgettable experience.

[Nikki]

didn't like it at all

[John J Moroney · Rating 5 out of 5]

Terrific story of technology, business leadership and taking calculated risks.

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting topic, and an interesting read. The author seemed to take a balanced approach to the topic and the company, while showing the true nature of these steel people.
Some words were used very oddly, such as "hydrologic." And he mentioned a "Buick Cutlass," which would either be an Oldsmobile, or a Buick something else. Its propulsion was mentioned as a "motor" instead of an engine.
Overall this book is an interesting read about people with fortitude who take big risks and yet make things happen. It is America.