In September, I read The Story of Reo Joe: Work, Kin, and Community in Autotown, U.S.A by Lisa Fine. The book is about the old Reo plant in Lansing, MI, a place very close to my heart because its in the vicinity of where I grew up and where my family continues to live to this day.

Fine did an apt job of painting the picture of what is was like to work at Reo in the early twentieth century until the plant closed in the 1970s. What really moved me about this was how she addressed race and class right away by referencing a Malcolm X quote about the difficulties of growing up in Lansing.

Furthermore, Fine was not afraid to really go after the good stuff here and deliver a sometimes-chilling portrayal of inherent racism in a mostly Caucasian blue-collar workplace. Her depiction of masculinity via describing the different activities “Reo Joes” engaged in as part of the plant was revealing about larger trends toward women and men’s separate spheres. In the world of gender history, it is rare to find a study that so closely examines masculinity in the same way that women’s history is looked upon, naturally and deserving of attention. I definitely think this is a must read for anyone interested in labor history, the Midwest and auto history. I look forward to reading more of her work.