Boggs's announcement is terse. The news doesn't take long to deliver. The Janesville Assembly Plant will cease production by 2010.”
-- Amy Goldstein (chapter 1 paragraph N/A)

Importance: This was the announcement from a GM executive named Bill Boggs who addressed the workers at the GM plant that morning in 2008. It turned out that his projection was overly optimistic and the plant closed within a few months.

Just because the company says it is closing Janesville, no reason to think that the plant won't end up getting a new product instead. Even if the plant shuts down for awhile, he figured, it will reopen. It always has.”
-- Amy Goldstein (chapter 4 paragraph N/A)

Importance: This was Marv Wopat's attitude upon learning that GM had announced the Janesville plant would close. His attitude mirrored others who believed that the GM plant would reopen since it had closed briefly on other occasions.

The way that some towns have fevered sports rivalries, Janesville and Beloit have everything rivalries. If...
-- Amy Goldstein (chapter 10 paragraph N/A)