For nearly a century, The Bassett Furniture Company was the center of life in the town of Bassett, Virginia, just as its wealthy namesake family was the foundation of the town’s prosperity. But that all changed in the 1980s, when cheaper Chinese products began flooding the American furniture market. The imports threatened the Bassett family legacy, as well as the livelihoods of hundreds of Virginians.
In her bestseller, Factory Man, journalist Beth Macy recounts the Shakespearean rise and fall of Bassett Furniture during a time of rapid globalization, and how John Bassett managed to save his own company – Vaughan-Bassett Furniture – from a similar fate. Factory Man is now out in paperback, and an HBO miniseries based on the book is in development, with Tom Hanks as executive producer.
Beth Macy’s articles have appeared in national publications and the Roanoke Times, and she has won more than a dozen national awards.
Copyright 2015 Boise State Public Radio
