The (Modern) Jungle
In 2000, Harcourt Books published a terrific book by University of Iowa journalism professor Stephen Bloom called "Postville: A Clash of Cultures in America's Heartland." The non-fiction book chronicled the changes in a small Iowa town after 150 Lubavitcher Jews moved to town and purchased the local slaughterhouse, transforming it into the largest kosher meat-packer in the nation. During the course of 2008, the plant was raided by federal immigration authorities, its CEO was arrested for harboring illegal aliens, the firm eventually filed for bankruptcy, and the plant ceased production in November.Who better to discuss the recent developments in Postville than Stephen Bloom? And he doesn't spare the state's governor in his indictments.
posted by CM @ 9:21 PM
2 Comments:
Looks like Bloom has more than enough material for another book--or at least a substantial forward to the next edition of the first one. Writing a second book might be the way to go. I don't get the impression from his interivew that he buys the "culture-clash" angle so much anymore.
The follow-up could and would be a completely different book, I suspect-- one about business citizenship and one-industry towns.
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