Wheels of Fortune: The Story of Rubber in Akron (Ohio History and Culture) [Paperback]

Steve Love (Author), David Giffels (Author), Debbie Van Tassel (Editor)

Book Description

Series: Ohio History and Culture | Publication Date: November 1, 1998

Wheels of Fortune is a tale of two cities-both of them Akron. One city, built on rubber, turned itself into a model for Middle America industrial success. The other city has had to learn to live on in rubber's wake, to remake itself, to come to terms with its remade self. To tell this tale of two cities is to tell the tale of America's rubber industry. The stories interlock like tire and wheel. From its earliest days, Akron has been a city of multiple incarnations: canal boat stopover, farm machinery manufacturer, cereal maker. But for more than a century after Dr. Benjamin Franklin Goodrich came to town in 1870, Akron was the Rubber Capital of the World. Its people worked in the rubber shops of Goodrich, Goodyear, Firestone, General, Seiberling, Mohawk, and Sun. They lived in Goodyear Heights and Firestone Park, the neighborhoods fostered by their employers. Even the air they breathed was heavy with the odor of rubber. To some, it stank. To others, it smelled like money. By the 1980s, much the rubber industry and, thus, Akron had disappeared. Not into the night. Not overnight. Everyone had seen it coming for years. Union and rubber companies management squared off against each other as if the city were a boxing ring. There were no winners. Akron was the loser. First, the plants closed, the production moving south. Then the company headquarters, with the exception of Goodyear, followed. The people rubber left behind discovered they had not only their memories but also the ability to remake Akron into a center for polymer knowledge, a remnant of rubber research and a bridge between the two cities. Wheels of Fortune is their story, these people who made more than rubber. They made lives-and a city.

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 --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Review

"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. Richly illustrated with photographs from the newspaper archives." -- Booklist<br /><br />[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

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Product Details

• Paperback: 359 pages
• Publisher: University of Akron Press (November 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1884836380
• ISBN-13: 978-1884836381
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 8.5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #950,455 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book on History of Akron and the Rubber Industry, October 23, 2003

By 

Jeff Mothersbaugh (Rock Hill, SC USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Wheels of Fortune: The Story of Rubber in Akron (Ohio History and Culture) (Hardcover)

As a native of Akron, OH, I was very interested in reading this book and learning the history of the city which was known as the Rubber Capitol of the World.

This book is very well written and contains many beautiful sharp photos from the past.

The rubber industry has had an effect on everyone. Learn how it all started and how the the creator of modern rubber died pennyless. I very highly recommend this book!

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent review of making of an industry and its capital., January 6, 1999

By 

[e-mail] (Boston, MA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Wheels of Fortune: The Story of Rubber in Akron (Ohio History and Culture) (Paperback)

Excellent case study of how invention grew a city and the company-city relationship. Demonstrates

the importance of innovation and how industries die if they don't embrace change.

The effect on the Akron people is excellent.