Made in the USA ─ The Rise and Retreat of American Manufacturing

"There is probably no other writer whose books I anticipate with more enthusiasmthan Vaclav Smil. He brings remarkable insight to every topic he examines, combining his vastknowledge of science and energy, history and business to address some of the most pressing issues weface today. So I'm pleased he will be turning that keen intellect to the subject of manufacturing inthe U.S."--Bill Gates

In Made in the USA, Vaclav Smilpowerfully rebuts the notion that manufacturing is a relic of predigital history and that the lossof American manufacturing is a desirable evolutionary step toward a pure service economy. Smilargues that no advanced economy can prosper without a strong, innovative manufacturing sector andthe jobs it creates. Reversing a famous information economy dictum, Smil argues that serving potatochips is not as good as making microchips. The history of manufacturing in America, Smil tells us,is a story of nation-building. He explains how manufacturing became a fundamental force behindAmerica's economic, strategic, and social dominance. He describes American manufacturing's rapidrise at the end of the nineteenth century, its consolidation and modernization between the two worldwars, its role as an enabler of mass consumption after 1945, and its recent decline. Some economistsargue that shipping low-value jobs overseas matters little because the high-value work remains inthe United States. But, asks Smil, do we want a society that consists of a small population ofworkers doing high-value-added work and masses of unemployed? Smil assesses various suggestions forsolving America's manufacturing crisis, including lowering corporate tax rates, promoting researchand development, and improving public education. Will America act to preserve and reinvigorate itsmanufacturing? It is crucial to our social and economic well-being; but, Smil warns, the odds are nobetter than even.

Vaclav Smil is the author of more than thirty books on energy, the environment, food, and the history of technical advances, including Harvesting the Biosphere: What We Have Taken from Nature, published by the MIT Press. He is a Distinguished Professor Emeritus at the University of Manitoba. In 2010 he was named by Foreign Policy as one of the Top 100 Global Thinkers.