Inside Bethlehem Steel

Inside Bethlehem Steel: Reviewers' Comments

John Strohmeyer: “…enlightening read for everyone concerned about the fate of big industry in America and a must addition to every library. Bette Kovach’s insightful perspective and the spectacular photographs of Peter Treiber constitute a work that will not be forgotten.” Full Text

John Strohmeyer, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author of Crisis in Bethlehem: Big Steel’s Battle to Survive, was editor of The Bethlehem Globe-Times for 28 years.

Nancy Gravatt: “Photographer Peter Treiber and journalist Bette Kovach have teamed up to create a visually-stunning portrait of Bethlehem Steel, intimately depicting the final decades of an iconic company that literally built our nation.

Treiber’s dynamic images, from the teeming blast furnace with sparks flying to the gleaming coils of finished steel sitting on the shipping dock, reveal the fascinating art of steelmaking as it was conducted over the last quarter century inside the walls of this legendary Fortune 500 company.

Kovach’s insider-knowledge as a former Bethlehem communications executive, along with her stated love for “the majesty and might” of the steel industry, creates a narrative history that gives colorful context to every photograph represented. Inside Bethlehem Steel: The Last Quarter Century is both an historically and artistically- valuable book, a must-have volume for anyone who has a love for recent American history.”

Nancy Gravatt, Vice President, Communications, American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI)

Scott Robertson: “What this book does perhaps most successfully is retain the history and heritage of Bethlehem Steel, creating an image not of rusting, hulking, idle operations, but of a company, and an industry, that was pulsing with excitement, built on the backs of hard workers who gave their all, only to find little left for them at the end of 99 years.” Full Text

Scott Robertson, Chief Correspondent, Steel, American Metal Market

Ed Riccio: “The most stunning visual history I’ve ever seen. Peter Treiber captures the beauty and power of the steelmaking process and portrays it as fine art. Art that describes one of man’s most ennobling efforts, the creation of basic materials for the betterment of human life.”