Crisis in Bethlehem: Big Steel's Struggle to Survive

I worked for Bethlehem Steel during the latter time period that this book covers and I knew some of the players Strohmeyer mentioned. No one could have better described the times and circumstances that brought down this mammoth company as well this book did. Unfortunately, Strohmeyer died before the bitter end of Bethlehem Steel and so was not able to chronicle it's dying moments. At 99 years old, Bethlehem ceased to exist on December 31, 2003. The company's plants and other assets were either donated to a historical society or purchased at pennnies on the dollar by International Steel Group, a newly formed steel company which successfully revived several bankrupt steel companies and merged them together into a cohesive business. International Steel Group was subsequently purchased by Mittal Steel of the Netherlands and designated Mittal Steel USA. The old Bethlehem plants continue to operate under the new owner. This book is a fascinating, easy to read chronicle of corporate blundering so profound that one wonders how the company lasted for nearly a century. Sadly, even in its last days, Bethlehem managers simply couldn't fathom the drastic changes that were needed to save the company.

Bethlehem Steel is a huge part of my family history. My mother, father and both of their fathers all were employed for many years by this once-great company. Complacency seems too mild a word for what ailed this company. This book documents the fall of Bethlehem Steel [inventor of the H-beam... predecessor to the I-beam necessary for many of the tall buildings and skyscrapers we have today]. I really like this book but I am probably biased as I grew up in Baltimore, MD and Bethelehem, PA. Billy Joel even wrote a song about the influence of this company [not a pretty picture] in his song "Allentown". There's a lot of history here and a lot of explanation for why I had to leave all my childhood friends behind when the company started falling apart.

This was a fascinating page-turner, written by someone who was intimately familiar with Bethlehem Steel because he lived in its home town for decades, serving as the editor of the local paper. One of the best non-fiction (I almost didn't qualify this statement with that word) books I've read in a long time. Now that The Steel is gone forever, I'd love to be able to persuade Mr. Strohmeyer to write a companion volume to this one telling us just how the end came, in the same detailed analytic manner. We might be able to learn from others' mistakes. The failure of this once great company is a tragedy and is a sad example of what happens when American labor, management, and government all become too arrogant and complacent. Bye-bye profits. Bye-bye jobs. What's next? Bye-bye national defense? If steel was The Basic Industry, then everyone working in industrial America needs to read this book. Sooner or later, you'll probably deal with some of the issues raised here.