Wheels of Fortune: The Story of Rubber in Akron (Ohio History and Culture): Steve Love
Editorial Reviews
From Booklist
Its tire-manufacturing jobs have disappeared, and the familiar names of companies formerly headquartered there now belong to foreign owners. But Akron, Ohio, continues to be known as “the rubber capital of the world.” Although its “Big Four” tire companies have been profiled individually, no thorough story of Akron and its once vital and thriving tire and rubber industry has ever been told before. This history of Akron’s people and its commerce, which was originally published in Akron’s Beacon Journal as a weekly series beginning in spring 1996 and running for a year, is spiritedly told with affection by two of the newspaper’s staff writers. Love and Giffels recount a tale of struggle, survival, and loss, showing how the impact of the Depression, World War II, and the decline of manufacturing was magnified in this one-industry town. Their story is also one of rebirth as the University of Akron has become a growing center for polymer research. Richly illustrated with photographs from the newspaper archives. David Rouse
Review
[Wheels of Fortune] is a narrative of daring and determination, greed and compassion, triumphs wrested from adversity, and generosity borne from injustices righted. In the course of this journey, you will see how Akron became what it undeniably still is today: a unique American city built with vision and grit and love, a monument to the resilience of the human spirit and its capacity to create, to explore, and to persevere. — Rita Dove, Foreword, Wheels of Fortune