Souls of Steel

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Summary: Souls of Steel
Review: A tale of the passage to manhood for an unlikely steel worker, Souls of Steel describes the culture of steel workers at the time when steel was king. Some of the most intense passages are those describing the operations within the steel mill; you can feel the heat. Author, Garrow's depiction of family ties and his portrayal of passionate love shape the story of this unique time and place in our American history.

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Summary: Steel Glory,Steel Tragedy,Steel Love Story
Review: In June of this year I returned to Pittsburgh after twenty years away from home. I returned to a place that was forever changed by the global economy. Where had the corporate powers of the Steel Valley gone? Westinghouse Electric Company no longer existed; Gulf Research was gone; the 2nd Avenue Plant of J&L Steel was a modern-day electronics industrial park and most of all, the Homestead Works of US Steel (oh yeah, USX) had become something called the Waterfront, another retail sweatshop filled with low paying, why-should-I-care-about-this jobs. This was quite an overwhelming change for the son of a Pittsburgh Steelworker to absorb. What happened to the glory days of steel? Where are the people who earned "a damn good living" and gave pieces of their hearts and souls back to the company? I found a rewarding answer in the tragedy and tribute of a novel called Souls of Steel. The author, Phillip Garrow, has taken the bits and pieces of every Steel Family's life and turned it into a literary work worthy of the company of The Bard himself. In his novel, Garrow mixes the typical (sometimes vulgar) steel man's vocabulary with a prose that is so poetic it deserves to be read aloud. Modern literature is starving for works like this. My opinion is that Souls of Steel should be mandatory reading not only for students of modern American literature, but also for the calculating geniuses produced by today's MBA factories. Souls of Steel captures the spirit of the glorious hay day of steel with the tragedy of its fall. The fall was hard, not just for the Steel Company's balance sheet but for the delicately teetering lives of the workers, who were attached to the mill's success or failure.
Garrow's ability to turn a phrase will lead me back to his work just to hear the words again. For example, he speaks of a retiree having " a smile-rich and deep as a steel man's heart". It's easy for me to envision that smile. I see it every time I look at my dad.
It's hard to believe one can find romance in the viscous, growling of the steel mill dragon, but Garrow has done just that. Obviously, I find this book not only a must read, but a must read again and again.

Steve Baran
Peters Township, PA
PH: 724-969-0595

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Summary: A Love Story
Review: Souls Of Steel is a heart gripping love story. The cover is deceptive. The author articulates a love story deftly mixed with reality and fantasy. The story weaves emotional romance with love experiences utilizing a collapsing industry as its backdrop framed in fading ethnic cultures.

I beleive this novel is destined to be made into a movie.