Glass House

"A devastating read . . . For anyone wondering why swing-state America voted against the establishment in 2016, Mr. Alexander supplies plenty of answers."—The Wall Street Journal

"Brian Alexander's moving new book "Glass House" explores how the undermining by venture capital of once-enviable factory jobs in Lancaster, Ohio, has nearly killed that once-thriving town. You could write the same book about half of the country."—Chris Jones, The Chicago Tribune

"A valuable contribution . . . Lays out a step-by-step account of Anchor Hocking’s slide, benefitting not only from Alexander’s strong reporting, but from candid interviews with key players. What is revealed is a complex system—Alexander argues it is deliberately complex—that allows savvy investors to make relatively small, highly leveraged bets on companies like Anchor Hocking."—Forbes

"Glass House is among the best of the books to hit shelves in the last several years exploring what’s happened to the nation and the role that greed and the collapse of once solid institutions played in the demise of small-town, middle-class America. Among the others are George Packer’s The Unwinding and J.D. Vance’s Hillbilly Elegy."—Newsweek

"Gripping . . . There are those who argue that leveraged acquisitions and restructurings of the sort that Anchor Hocking has endured make companies more efficient and steer capital to better uses . . . Alexander makes a persuasive case, though, that from the perspective of Lancaster, it’s been one big fleecing."—Bloomberg Businessweek

"For those still trying to fathom why the land of the free and the home of the brave opted for a crass, vituperative huckster with an unwavering fondness for alternative facts instead of the flawed oligarch Democrats served up, Brian Alexander has a story for you."—The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

"[The book] really comes alive in Alexander’s portraits of the people caught up in the town’s unraveling . . . If you want to understand the despair that grips so much of this country, and the love of place that gives so many the strength to keep going, Glass House is a place to start."—Christian Science Monitor

"Reads like an odd—and oddly satisfying—fusion of George Packer’s The Unwinding and one of Michael Lewis’ real-life financial thrillers."—Laura Miller, Slate

"Offers insights into how economic trends are tied to the financial and health problems plaguing many middle- and low-income Americans."—CBS News

"As Alexander carefully documents, Anchor Hocking and Lancaster were not undone by foreign competition, but by domestic corporate raiders, unshackled from regulations during the Reagan administration."—John Warner, The Chicago Tribune

"Those mystified by the election of Donald Trump could well start here . . . A devastating and illuminating book that shows how a city and a country got where they are and how difficult it can be to reverse course."—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

"Emotionally striking . . . Alexander has combined his considerable journalistic talent with love for his broken hometown, producing an incredible, unshaking look at the true story of the American working class."—Booklist