American Phoenix
The Remarkable Story of William Skinner, A Man Who Turned Disaster Into Destiny
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- $14.99
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- $14.99
Publisher Description
The incredible story of nineteenth-century millionaire William Skinner, a leading founder of the American silk industry, who lost everything in a devastating flood—and his improbable, inspiring comeback to the pinnacle of the business world.
In 1845 a young, penniless William Skinner sailed in steerage class on a boat that took him from the slums of London to the United States. Endowed with rare knowledge in the art of dyeing and an uncanny business sense, he acquired work in a fledgling silk mill in Massachusetts, quickly rising to prominence in the nation’s new luxury industry. Soon he opened his own factory and began turning out one of the bestselling silk brands in the country. Skinner was lauded as a pioneer in the textile industry and a manufacturer who knew no such word as fail. His business grew to sustain a bustling community filled with men, women, and children, living and working in the mill village of “Skinner-ville,” producing the country’s most glamorous, fashionable thread.
Then, in 1874, disaster struck. Hundreds of millions of gallons of water burst through a nearby dam, destroying everything in its path, including Skinnerville. Within fifteen minutes, Skinner’s entire life’s work was swept away, and he found himself one of the central figures in the worst industrial disaster the nation had yet known.
In this gripping narrative history, Skinner’s great-great-granddaughter, Sarah S. Kilborne, tells an inspiring, unforgettable American story—of a town devastated by unimaginable catastrophe; an industry that had no reason to succeed except for the perseverance of a few intrepid entrepreneurs; and a man who had nothing—and everything—to lose as he struggled—and succeeded— to rebuild his life for a second time. American Phoenix offers a new twist on the American dream, reminding us that just when we thought the dream was over, it may have only just begun.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Alluring fabrics, a deadly flood, and rags-to-riches drama should beget a thrilling story. Instead, Kilborne's scattershot approach and overuse of surmise make for a drab bio of her great-great-grandfather William Skinner (1824 1902). Raised in poverty in London but skilled in silk dyeing and manufacture, Skinner built a fortune as a Massachusetts mill owner. In 1874, his mill and the village named for him were destroyed by the bursting of a dam of which he was part owner. Unlike other flood-zone manufacturers, Skinner abandoned the valley, fired his workers, disbursed relief funds inequitably (his brother got almost three times his due), and parlayed his reputation into a sweetheart deal with the Holyoke Water Tower Company, ultimately amassing even greater wealth. Kilborne, co-author of a children's book (Leaving Vietnam), excuses her ancestor's faults, saying, "When pressured, instinctively became more creative, whatever the cost to others." Without detailing the era's other industrial transformations, Kilborne leaves readers wondering how much of Skinner's path to plutocracy was paved by changes in American manufacturing and what, besides his shrewdness and tenacity, there is to admire in him. Illus.