How Britain stopped making things. Why America did it on purpose.
The factories that built two countries, the men who closed them, and the paper trail they left behind. Researched from the archives by the METTLE channel, written for the people who remember.
How Britain Stopped Making Things
Fourteen stories, from Airfix and Matchbox to the MGB, Raleigh, steel and the RB211.
- The complete ebook, PDF and EPUB
- Reads on any phone, tablet, computer or TV
The METTLE Pair
The British half and the American half. Same decisions, two flags, one story.
- Both complete ebooks, PDF and EPUB
- 28 chapters, every name and date sourced
- Instant download, 30-day refund
Free: enter your email, get chapter one now
Goes up to $79 after Tuesday 17 November
Back to $79 when the timer runs out
Why America Deliberately Destroyed Its Manufacturing Industry
The decisions, the names and the paper trail behind eight million lost factory jobs.
- The complete ebook, PDF and EPUB
- Reads on any phone, tablet, computer or TV
Two halves of the same story.
How Britain Stopped Making Things
14 chapters · the British book
Britain used to make things. Cars, motorcycles, locomotives, the toys that ended up in every Christmas stocking in the country. Within a single lifetime, nearly all of it went.
The workshops: Airfix, Matchbox, Hornby. The road: the MGB, the E-Type, the British motorcycle, Raleigh. The furnaces: cotton, steel, coal. The engines: the Napier Deltic and the RB211. Every chapter names the people who built these places, and the ones who decided to let them go.
Get the British ebook — $49 →Why America Deliberately Destroyed Its Manufacturing Industry
14 chapters · the American book
Between 1979 and 2010 more than eight million American factory jobs went, and whole towns went with them. The usual story blames the Japanese, the unions and the robots.
This book follows what actually happened: a run of decisions, taken on purpose by named people on known dates. From a Sunday magazine essay in 1970 to the Securities and Exchange Commission, General Electric, Boeing, the Ford Pinto, General Motors, NAFTA and United States Steel. Not a conspiracy. A record.
More about the American book →Both books are in hardback.
Printed and bound by Amazon, $69 each, and the ebook comes with it: the copyright page tells you how to download it.
On Amazon from Tuesday 10 November. The links go live here that morning, and they take you to your own country’s Amazon.
Not sure yet? Read a chapter first.
Pick a book. The opening chapter arrives in your inbox straight away.
The American book, chapter one
From the Friedman essay of 1970 to the air traffic controllers of 1981. Signing up before 10 November reserves the launch price: $39, or $59 for both books.
From the Friedman essay of 1970 to the air traffic controllers of 1981, and what employers learned from them.
The British book, chapter one
1983: the cranes come for the machines at the Matchbox works in Hackney, and lift them out through a hole in the roof. A ten-minute read on where they went, and why.
“It will resonate with so many people.”
The METTLE guarantee.
If it isn’t the book you hoped it was, reply to your receipt within 30 days and you’ll have a full refund. No questions, no forms. You keep the files.
Questions, answered plainly.
How do I read it?
The book arrives the moment you order, as a PDF and an EPUB. It reads on any phone, tablet, computer or Kindle, and on a smart TV through its web browser. No apps to install, no account to make.
Is there a printed copy?
Yes. Both books are in hardback on Amazon, $69 each, and the ebook is included with the hardback. They go on sale on Tuesday 10 November.
Which book should I read first?
Either. The British book follows the factories: Airfix, Matchbox, the MGB, Raleigh, steel. The American book follows the decisions: the boardrooms, the banks and the rules that made closing a plant pay. Together they are one story.
I already own the British book.
Then the American one is $39 for you, with no deadline. Look for my email of 10 November, or reply to any METTLE email and I’ll send you the link.
Is this the videos, written out?
No. It’s the fuller account. The films run half an hour; the book gives each story the room a film never has: the named people, the dates, the minutes of the meetings where it happened.
What if it isn’t for me?
Reply to your receipt within 30 days and you’ll have a full refund. No questions asked, and you keep the files.
One factory at a time.
METTLE tells the story of British and American industry: one factory, one marque, one padlocked gate at a time. Over a million people have watched the films. The books are where the whole record is written down.