Non Fiction Book Reviews #23

BLUE SKY DREAM:

A MEMOIR

by David Beers

David Beers grew up in the time of ever-optimistic middle-class Americans who believed in something called the American Dream. In the late 1950s the G. I. bill, FHS loans, and massive government spending on aerospace, computers, and university research created a vast new middle class. These middle-class Americans, the "blue sky tribe," lived in sunny planned suburbs where crime was a distant rumor, most jobs for life and trusted that corporate loyalty was reciprocal, believed that technology meant ever-higher living standards, and worshiped a God who endorsed personal and national progress. Blue sky Americans was a society of faith, despite the veneer of sleek space-age reality. But as the Beers family and millions of other families learned, that faith would not survive in a post-Cold War America. the American Dream had gone bust and the blue sky tribe was cut adrift in an American that offers no guarantees, no plans for the future, and on loyalty between corporation and employee. Blue Sky Dreams is the story of the Beers family as they family embraced the American Dream in the 1950s. the father had a good paying high-tech job, the mother stayed at home, and the children had all the opportunities given to white, midlle-class American children. But as the decades changed so did the family with growing tensions and disillusionment in their suburban paradise, a son rejecting his parents' values, and a father's one moment of inexplicable violence. a one family memoir that is also the memoir of other blue sky families. A look at the promise of the Cold War and the reality of the post Cold War. A deeply engrossing read.

PROHIBITION:

THIRTEEN YEARS THAT CHANGED AMERICA

by Edward Behr

On January 16, 1920 at the stroke of midnight, America went dry. For the next thirteen years the 18th Amendment to the Constitution would deny every citizen the right to buy or sell alcoholic drink. Those thirteen years were to change America forever. Instead of regulating social behavior and eliminating the scourge of "the Devil's brew," what Prohibition did was to incite Americans to break or bend the law by virtually any mans possible. Formally law-abiding citizens now frequented speakeasies and brewed concoctions in their sinks and bathtubs. Fishermen found rum-running far more lucrative than fishing. All manner of men, petty criminals, upstanding citizens, lawyers, government officials, and law enforcement all saw in Prohibition an unparalled license to get rich. Far from eliminating alcohol in America, Prohibition encouraged more drinking than every before. What brought about those thirteen years that changed America forever? Edward Behr traces the rise of the Temperance movement from Colonial times onward. Whiskey was so plentiful it was often used for legal, and illegal, tender. Throughout the latter half of the nineteenth century and into the early years of the twentieth century, various crusading forces, some well-meaning, some hypocritical, were demanding an end to temperance and abolition of all alcoholic beverages. Between 1920 and 1933, they believed they succeeded. Here is the story of Carrie Nation, Oberlin College, rum-runners, bootleggers, ordinary people, and the jazz Age and all the partying that went with it. America is still struggling with the problems of alcohol and drug dependency. Prohibition presents the history of how the first ban worked. A fascinating book.

EXECUTIVE BLUES:

DOWN AND OUT IN CORPORATE AMERICA

by G. J. Meyer

Nearing the age of fifty G. J. Meyer was "let go" from his position as vice president of public relations at McDonnell Douglas. He had an upper-middle-class standard of living to maintain, afraid, rejected, and feeling useless, he began to look for a new job. Meyer had thought he had a job for life. He had been a loyal, hard worker and had done all he could for the company he worked for. But this loyalty wasn't reciprocated and McDonnell Douglas looked at the bottom line and not at the people. Meyer, because of his position, got a golden parachute and started to work his connections. And what he discovered is that this connections didn't mean jack! Although he was well educated and had a variety of experiences working, editor, reporter, and work in public relations, he had the stench of failure about him. Although it wasn't his fault that his company had downsized, other executives looked at him and realized that it could of been them looking for a new job and found it uncomfortable dealing with Meyer. Executives found creative ways to avoid him and soon started using their secretaries as a buffer. Part of the golden parachute was the use of an outplacement center. A place to go to sit at a desk, use the phone, check out who was hiring, and talk with others and learn the the trials and tribulations of fellow "living dead." Meyer also describes the vague "searches" mounted by corporations, and the shabby treatment by headhunters. G. J. Meyers was a "wonder boy" from a blue-collar neighborhood who discovered the falsehoods behind the "American Dream." A heartrendering read of executives with skills, but are too expensive to hire.

CHANGING THE FOCUS:

KODAK AND THE BATTLE TO SAVE A GREAT AMERICAN COMPANY

by Alecia Swasy

George Eastman brought photography to the masses in the late nineteenth century with his easy-to-use cameras and films, and the Eastman Kodak Company has become a household name. Along with introducing the nation to snapping photographs as a way of keeping memories of the family, Kodak also gave people entertainment through the movies. Generations have preserved their memories with Kodak products, and with annual sales of nearly $14 billion, Kodak is one of the world's largest companies. But the photography giant has been battered by the same challenges that has faced all American companies in recent years. But years of easy success fostered complacency, bureaucracy, and overspending. By the late eighties, Kodak had lost its edge. Threatened by Fuji and other competitors and plagued with ill conceived diversification attempts, it became one of the first major U.S. business to seek salvation through downsizing, and slashing thousand of jobs. Swassy recounts Kodak's roller-coaster history, from the suicide of the founder, a string of failed product launches, and management blunders including when a Kodak CEO fell asleep during a meeting with Bill Gates. Also looked at are the people who worked for Kodak and the anger and hopelessness they feel and how the layoffs divested Kodak's hometown of Rochester, New York. And how the new CEO George Fisher is trying to find new ways to improve Kodak's products and profits, and save jobs too. But can the new, leaner Kodak regain the trust and marshal the creativity of its people for the competitive battles ahead? Only time will tell. A story of the rise, fall, and possible resurrection of not only one American company, but others too.

BEER BLAST:

THE INSIDE STORY OF THE BREWING INDUSTRY'S BIZARRE BATTLES FOR YOUR MONEY by Philip Van Munching

Philip Van Muching is of the third generation of this family to enter the beer business. His grandfather came to the United States from Holland and founded Van Muching & Company, Inc. the longtime U.S. importer of Heineken. Philip spent a decade at the company holding the posts of special projects representative, director of corporate communications, and finally, director of advertising. Needless to say, he knows the beer business. The Coors family of Colorado has quite a reputation. The family is known for their donations to right-wing groups such as the John Birch Society and the Moral Majority. They are also known for not liking unions or gays. as for beer, Coors has brought out such "classics" as: Coors Banquet (a "light" beer), Colorado Chiller (a malt-based cooler, greenish in color, a lime-flavored beer, Master III, Herman Joseph, and Killian's Irish Red (import beers that weren't), Zima (a clear beer), and Zima Gold (a clear beer with color). And then there is Anheuser-Busch Company whose use of false advertising got them the unwanted attention of the BATF, demanding of their wholesalers to drop the other brands and carry only A-B brands, and brought out such "classics" as: Chelsa (an "adult soft drink"), Root 66 (a root beer-flavored carbonated drink), King Cobra ( a malt liquor marketed for minorities), Baybry's Champagne Cooler (a champagne mimosa, mass produced), and Dewy Stephens Premium Light Wine Cooler (that helped speed up the demise of the wine cooler category). And how the microbrew revolution, that caused quite an alarm within the established beer industry, is now being co-opted by "phony micros" such as Red Dog (actually brewed by Miller) and Sam Adams Boston Lager (brewed in Pittsburgh). From Billy Beer, clear beer, dry beer, ice beer, "Beechwood Aging," and "Rocky Mountain water," the beer industry is spending mega-millions of dollars to get your dollars. A fascinating book that makes for a good read while you're drinking your beer.

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