This is the eleventh in a series of posts considering Amy Goldstein’s Janesville: An American Story. In this post, I’ll cover one chapter of Part Five (2012) of Janesville (Chapter 47, First Vote). Amy Goldstein’s chapter about the November 2012 presidential election is a study in contrasts, between the polling-place experiences of first-time voter and vice-presidential candidate Paul Ryan. Goldstein’s…
Books
Books, Culture, Economy, Janesville, Politics
Considering Janesville: An American Story (Part 10 of 14)
by JOHN ADAMS •
This is the tenth in a series of posts considering Amy Goldstein’s Janesville: An American Story. In this post, I’ll cover one chapter of Part Five (2012) of Janesville. Goldstein writes of the broader events of 2012 (the Recall election, Ryan running for vice president) and others that are more intensely individual (a graduate of a retraining program takes her own life…
Books, Culture, Economy, Janesville, Politics
Considering Janesville: An American Story (Part 9 of 14)
by JOHN ADAMS •
This is the ninth in a series of posts considering Amy Goldstein’s Janesville: An American Story. In this post, I’ll cover remaining chapters from Part Four (2011) of Janesville. Part of this story is well-known to Wisconsinites: Gov. Walker introduces a Budget Repair Bill (since its enactment into law now-universally called Act 10 by Wisconsinites), Democratic senators leave…
Babbittry, Books, Culture, Economy, Janesville
Considering Janesville: An American Story (Part 8 of 14)
by JOHN ADAMS •
This is the eighth in a series of posts considering Amy Goldstein’s Janesville: An American Story. In this post, I’ll cover one chapter from Part Four (2011) of Janesville (The Ambassador of Optimism). I’ll cover the chapter in detail because it’s so perfect in its account of boosterism, as though Sinclair Lewis’s protagonist George F. Babbitt overtook a Janesville resident and…
Books, Culture, Economy, Janesville
Considering Janesville: An American Story (Part 7 of 14)
by JOHN ADAMS •
This is the seventh in a series of posts considering Amy Goldstein’s Janesville: An American Story. In this post, I’ll cover five chapters from Part Three (2010) of Janesville (Labor Fest 2010, Project 16:49, Figuring It Out, and Bags of Hope). Goldstein describes the year’s Labor Day parade in Janesville through three politicians’ public personas: Since this is an…
Books, Culture, Economy, Janesville
Considering Janesville: An American Story (Part 6 of 14)
by JOHN ADAMS •
This is the sixth in a series of posts considering Amy Goldstein’s Janesville: An American Story. In this post, I’ll cover five chapters from Part Three (2010) of Janesville (The Last Days of Parker Pen, Becoming a Gypsy, Family is More Important than GM, Honor Cords, and The Day the White House Comes to Town). What was left…
Books, Culture, Economy, Janesville, Politics
Considering Janesville: An American Story (Part 5 of 14)
by JOHN ADAMS •
This is the fifth in a series of posts considering Amy Goldstein’s Janesville: An American Story. In this post, I’ll cover four chapters from Part Two (2009) of Janesville (Blackhawk, Ahead of the Class, A Plan and Distress Signals, and The Holiday Food Drive). Goldstein’s not polemical, and her descriptions are more subtle than they would be for…
Books, Culture, Economy
Considering Janesville: An American Story (Part 4 of 14)
by JOHN ADAMS •
This is the fourth in a series of posts considering Amy Goldstein’s Janesville: An American Story. In this post, I’ll cover five chapters from Part Two (2009) of Janesville (Rock County 5.0, The Fourth Last Day, Bidding War, Sonic Speed, and What Does a Union Man Do?). Goldstein describes the formation of Rock County 5.0 in this section…
Books, Culture, Economy, Janesville, Politics
Considering Janesville: An American Story (Part 3 of 14)
by JOHN ADAMS •
This is the third in a series of posts considering Amy Goldstein’s Janesville: An American Story. In this post, I’ll write about five chapters of Janesville (Change in August, To the Renaissance Center, Mom, What Are You Going to Do?, When One Door of Happiness Closes, Another Opens, and The Parker Closet). In chapters 5 through 9, Goldstein…
Books, Culture, Economy, Janesville
Considering Janesville: An American Story (Part 2 of 14)
by JOHN ADAMS •
This is the second in a series of posts considering Amy Goldstein’s Janesville: An American Story. In this post, I’ll write about the prologue and the first four chapters of Janesville (Prologue, A Ringing Phone, The Carp Swimming on Main Street, Craig, and A Retirement Party). Janesville, Wisconsin’s manufacturing story reaches back far before General Motors produced its…
Books, Culture, Economy, Janesville, Politics
Considering Janesville: An American Story (Part 1 of 14)
by JOHN ADAMS •
This is the first in a series of posts considering Amy Goldstein’s Janesville: An American Story. Bloggers have the luxury of time, so I’ll happily use that abundance to write at length on Goldstein’s book, one for which many have been waiting these last few years. Before beginning, though, I’ll post an introduction to the book from the…
Books, Culture, Economy, Politics, Trump
Considering The Politics of Resentment, Concluding Thoughts (Part 9 of 9)
by JOHN ADAMS •
This is the ninth in a series of posts considering Katherine Cramer’s Politics of Resentment: Rural Consciousness in Wisconsin and the Rise of Scott Walker. I first thought I’d post, chapter by chapter, on Katherine Cramer’s Politics of Resentment after I read her 11.13.16 article in the Washington Post, “How rural resentment helps explain the surprising victory…
Books, Culture, Economy, Politics, Wisconsin
Considering The Politics of Resentment, ‘We Teach These Things to Each Other’ (Part 8 of 9)
by JOHN ADAMS •
This is the eighth in a series of posts considering Katherine Cramer’s Politics of Resentment: Rural Consciousness in Wisconsin and the Rise of Scott Walker. Cramer claims in Chapter 8 that Beyond garnering the insight that people use social identities to think about politics, this book also shows how social group divides can operate as the central…
Books, Culture, Economy, Politics, Wisconsin
Considering The Politics of Resentment, ‘Reactions to the Ruckus’ (Part 7 of 9)
by JOHN ADAMS •
This is the seventh in a series of posts considering Katherine Cramer’s Politics of Resentment: Rural Consciousness in Wisconsin and the Rise of Scott Walker. In Chapter 7, Cramer describes the conditions immediately before, during, & immediately after the Great Recession, with consideration of Obama and Walker’s candidacies. With regard to Barack Obama, there’s much here that…