We used to make things in this country. We were the dazzling innovators, the undisputed world economic leaders, and with our manufacturing engine driving the process, we built a solid, high-achieving middle class and a thriving economy. Now, thanks to policies that are either indifferent - or downright hostile - to manufacturing, we're at the brink of losing it all. If you think this won't affect you, guess again.

In Make It in America: The Case for Re-Inventing the Economy, author Andrew N. Liveris presents a powerful case for the critical importance of domestic manufacturing to the long-term health of the entire U.S. economy and issues a candid wake-up call to America to reinvent its manufacturing base before it's too late.

If anyone has street cred on this subject, it's Liveris. Currently chairman and CEO of the Dow Chemical Company, one of the world's largest manufacturers and of the most global corporations, he's been on the global manufacturing stage for over 30 years. In this thought-provoking book, Liveris challenges conventional wisdom and, using vivid examples from around the globe, makes clear that:

• Manufacturing matters - more than ever before. Not all sectors are created equal. Manufacturing can create jobs and wealth to a degree that the service sector can't match.
• The Rust Belt, it turns out, isn't so rusty. Twenty-first-century manufacturing means solar cells for your home, batteries for your hybrid car, the touch screen on your smart phone, and the e-ink in your Kindle.