Do come back and tell me what you think about "Glass House." I will say this--some of it includes some rather dry financial info. Honestly? Give yourself permission to skip a little of that. It's good info, but if you're looking for the overall message of the book, you can skip some paragraphs about the more esoteric financial stuff, and the reading will go easier. (At least that is what I found. After I finished the book, I was so impressed that I went back and re-read some of the financial stuff to try and understand it better.)

Hard to summarize because it's a "big picture" book, but basically:

1. small town company starts, does well, the workers do well and so do the leadership, and the town does well because the leadership lives there and donates money to civic causes

2. company gets older, bought out by other companies, bought out by private equity, all just looking to raise share price and take short-term profits. Ever better paid upper management starts to not live in the community where the company is, and rules from bigger cities on the coast.

3. workers take pay cuts. Nobody is left to donate money or has time to volunteer for civic causes. Public gathering places like pools, libraries, schools, fall into disrepair

4. fewer jobs, fewer opportunities, leads to less hope. Opiates come in.

5. Nobody has insurance because nobody has a job, leading to much lower life expectancies in poorer areas of Ohio as compared to richer areas.

ETc.