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Life on the Line: One Woman's Tale of Work, Sweat, and Survival
"Engaging--. Terrific--. Takes us over the collar line with grace and authority."-- The New York Times
As a veteran reporter throughout the "downsizing" years of the auto industry in the United States and Canada, Queens-born Solange De Santis covered her fair share of auto plant closings, but almost always from the management's point of view. That is, until this mid-career, mid-thirties, Ivy League-educated journalist quit her job to become an assembly-line autoworker.
She was hired at a doomed General Motors plant, and quickly learned about the bone-crushing realities and mitigated rewards of hard, physical work. In Life on the Line , De Santis offers a glimpse into a world that too many of us shy away from acknowledging, even as we accept the keys to our new cars. Completely candid, and as unexpectedly poignant as it is funny, Life on the Line will change the way you view blue-collar work and the cars on which we all depend.
As a veteran reporter throughout the "downsizing" years of the auto industry in the United States and Canada, Queens-born Solange De Santis covered her fair share of auto plant closings, but almost always from the management's point of view. That is, until this mid-career, mid-thirties, Ivy League-educated journalist quit her job to become an assembly-line autoworker.
She was hired at a doomed General Motors plant, and quickly learned about the bone-crushing realities and mitigated rewards of hard, physical work. In Life on the Line , De Santis offers a glimpse into a world that too many of us shy away from acknowledging, even as we accept the keys to our new cars. Completely candid, and as unexpectedly poignant as it is funny, Life on the Line will change the way you view blue-collar work and the cars on which we all depend.
288 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1999
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
January 6, 2018
Well written, with a lot of emotion
The author wondered if her book would do her co-workers justice and tell their story. I believe it did that with a mix of intimate emotion and harsh reality.
The author wondered if her book would do her co-workers justice and tell their story. I believe it did that with a mix of intimate emotion and harsh reality.
April 9, 2021
An unfiltered, no bullshit account of plunging in the deep end of an unknown world. What sets this apart from the generic ‘find myself’ journey is the wit and humor, and her many co-workers that became family, as they often do.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews