In the Rings of Saturn

In this compelling, readable narrative, Joe Sherman explores virtually every aspect of the Saturn project, America's biggest and most publicized industrial success of the last decade. Here is the whole story - Saturn's mysterious beginnings inside General Motors in 1982; the site hunt that involved 38 states and ended in Spring Hill, Tennessee; the plant's construction and the transfer of 5,000 UAW members to a historic Southern backwater; and finally the small car's triumph in the marketplace. Telling the story through the standpoint of dozens of characters, from local farmers, to inspired assembly line workers, to `car smarts and gut feel' engineers, Sherman brings to life a very American story of renewal and growth, of great hope and soured expectations, of greed and lost opportunities. And he reveals that if the USA wants to produce high quality products that the world will want to buy, it must begin to adopt methods similar to those used in making the Saturn car.

About the Author :
Joe Sherman MBA is a freelance writer and occasional lecturer at his local college in Vermont. His previous books are: The House at Shelborne Farms (12,000 copies sold), A Thousand Voices (10,000 copies sold), and Fast Lane on a Dirt Road.

Review :
"Deftly portrays the conflicting points of view....[Sherman] covers the gamut in this book, talking about racism in the Deep South, resentment some local people felt for the company that disrupted their lives forever and the mad rush among some to sell the land for top dollar to 'speculators....A wonderful read for anyone interested in what can happen when an industry as large as GM thrusts itself upon a tiny, picturesque town in the middle of farming country."--Nashville Banner "A step-by-step account of the progress of Saturn Corporation from its inception through the company's first two years of production. The most compelling sections deal with the widely publicized impact the building of the Saturn factory had on rural Maury County, Tennessee, and on the town of Spring Hill in particular....Readable."--Publishers Weekly "Provides an opportunity to reflect on how industrial renewal in the United States might best be handled to benefit both business and the community"--Sloan Management Review "An interesting, instructive story...Sherman skillfully weaves togethor several disparate themes."--Booklist "Wide-ranging....Tellingly detailed in many respects."--Kirkus Reviews "In the Rings of Saturn is a different kind of book about a different kind of company. Saturn has been billed as, perhaps, the last gasp chance to demonstrate a traditional American company's ability to compete in the modern era while, at the same time, serving as a learning laboratory. Joe Sherman has written a provocative and insightful book on this important happening. He goes well beyond a mere description of the mechanical aspects of producing the Saturn car by looking in depth at the community and its citizens, as well as the empmloyees of Saturn. He aptly describes the depth of human emotions involved in this massive experiment....If you are interested in the process of change in the '90s, the so-called paradigm shift, In the Rings of Saturn is must reading."--David E. Cole, Director, Office for the Study of Automotive Transportation, University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute "This is the most complete history of Saturn to date, covering the period from the original planning to Saturn's successful entry inu to the highly competitive marketplace. The author does a fine job of detailing the many problems surrounding the start-up of the Saturn complex, ranging from community resistance to turmoil in the executive suite at GM, as well as describing some important features of the unique people system."--Donald F. Ephlin, Senior Lecturer, Sloan School of Management, MIT, and International Vice President, retired, the United Auto Workers Union "A fascinating study that offers a rare look at how corporate America and the American South forged a new chapter in automotive history."--William Ferris, Co-editor, Encyclopedia of Southern Culture "More than mere 'car talk', this is a rich and detailed assessment of how rural development and the good intentions of many gets turned around and distorted, leaving people and places with fewer rather than more opportunities and options."--Mark B. Lapping, author of Rural Planning and Development in the United States