Beth Macy, author of ‘Factory Man’
Journalist Beth Macy and John D. Bassett III, CEO of Vaughn-Bassett Furniture, are on a roll. And both are headed to UNCG.
The runaway success of Macy’s book about Bassett, “Factory Man: How One Furniture Maker Battled Offshoring, Stayed Local — and Helped Save an American Town,” has brought Macy and Bassett into the spotlight.
At the invitation of the Friends of the UNCG Libraries, Macy is coming to UNCG to talk about and sign copies of her book Thursday, Nov. 6, at 7 p.m. in the Virginia Dare Room of the Alumni House. Books will be for sale at the event, which is free. The public is welcome; no reservations are necessary.
Published in July, the book has been noted by the NY Times, Wall Street Journal, NPR and elsewhere, and is being touted as a possible award winner. Tom Hanks has reportedly bought the movie rights, and HBO may adapt it as a miniseries.
Meanwhile, the septuagenarian Bassett has become an “overnight success” after a distinguished business career of many years.
Bryan Burrough, reviewing the book for the New York Times, began “Oh, if only we had more business writers like Beth Macy, and more business books like her debut, ‘Factory Man’.”
“This is Ms. Macy’s first book, but it’s in a class with other runaway debuts like Laura Hillenbrand’s ‘Seabiscuit’ and Katherine Boo’s ‘Behind the Beautiful Forevers,’ ” wrote Janet Maslin in The Times.
See related story on Bassett receiving UNCG’s Entrepreneur Extraordinaire Award.
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