Joe Sherman MBA is a freelance writer and occasional lecturer at his local college in Vermont. His previous books are: The House at Shelborne Farms (12,000 copies sold), A Thousand Voices (10,000 copies sold), and Fast Lane on a Dirt Road.
"Deftly portrays the conflicting points of view....[Sherman] covers
the gamut in this book, talking about racism in the Deep South,
resentment some local people felt for the company that disrupted
their lives forever and the mad rush among some to sell the land
for top dollar to 'speculators....A wonderful read for anyone
interested in what can happen when an industry as large as GM
thrusts itself upon a tiny, picturesque town in the middle of
farming
country."--Nashville Banner
"A step-by-step account of the progress of Saturn Corporation from
its inception through the company's first two years of production.
The most compelling sections deal with the widely publicized impact
the building of the Saturn factory had on rural Maury County,
Tennessee, and on the town of Spring Hill in
particular....Readable."--Publishers Weekly
"Provides an opportunity to reflect on how industrial renewal in
the United States might best be handled to benefit both business
and the community"--Sloan Management Review
"An interesting, instructive story...Sherman skillfully weaves
togethor several disparate themes."--Booklist
"Wide-ranging....Tellingly detailed in many respects."--Kirkus
Reviews
"In the Rings of Saturn is a different kind of book about a
different kind of company. Saturn has been billed as, perhaps, the
last gasp chance to demonstrate a traditional American company's
ability to compete in the modern era while, at the same time,
serving as a learning laboratory. Joe Sherman has written a
provocative and insightful book on this important happening. He
goes well beyond a mere description of the mechanical aspects of
producing the
Saturn car by looking in depth at the community and its citizens,
as well as the empmloyees of Saturn. He aptly describes the depth
of human emotions involved in this massive experiment....If you
are
interested in the process of change in the '90s, the so-called
paradigm shift, In the Rings of Saturn is must reading."--David E.
Cole, Director, Office for the Study of Automotive Transportation,
University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute
"This is the most complete history of Saturn to date, covering the
period from the original planning to Saturn's successful entry inu
to the highly competitive marketplace. The author does a fine job
of detailing the many problems surrounding the start-up of the
Saturn complex, ranging from community resistance to turmoil in the
executive suite at GM, as well as describing some important
features of the unique people system."--Donald F. Ephlin, Senior
Lecturer,
Sloan School of Management, MIT, and International Vice President,
retired, the United Auto Workers Union
"A fascinating study that offers a rare look at how corporate
America and the American South forged a new chapter in automotive
history."--William Ferris, Co-editor, Encyclopedia of Southern
Culture
"More than mere 'car talk', this is a rich and detailed assessment
of how rural development and the good intentions of many gets
turned around and distorted, leaving people and places with fewer
rather than more opportunities and options."--Mark B. Lapping,
author of Rural Planning and Development in the United States
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