Empire of Rubber: Firestone's Scramble for Land and Power in Liberia
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- Create Date：2021-11-04 16:21:23
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Gregg Mitman
- ISBN：1620973774
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Summary
An ambitious and shocking expos� of America's hidden empire in Liberia， run by the storied Firestone corporation， and its long shadow
In the early 1920s， Americans owned 80 percent of the world's automobiles and consumed 75 percent of the world's rubber。 But only one percent of the world's rubber grew under the U。S。 flag， creating a bottleneck that hampered the nation's explosive economic expansion。 To solve its conundrum， the Firestone Tire and Rubber Company turned to a tiny West African nation， Liberia， founded in 1847 as a free Black republic。
Empire of Rubber tells a sweeping story of capitalism， racial exploitation， and environmental devastation， as Firestone transformed Liberia into America's rubber empire。
Historian and filmmaker Gregg Mitman scoured remote archives to unearth a history of promises unfulfilled for the vast numbers of Liberians who toiled on rubber plantations built on taken land。 Mitman reveals a history of racial segregation and medical experimentation that reflected Jim Crow America--on African soil。 As Firestone reaped fortunes， wealth and power concentrated in the hands of a few elites， fostering widespread inequalities that fed unrest， rebellions and， eventually， civil war。
A riveting narrative of ecology and disease， of commerce and science， and of racial politics and political maneuvering， Empire of Rubber uncovers the hidden story of a corporate empire whose tentacles reach into the present。
In the early 1920s， Americans owned 80 percent of the world's automobiles and consumed 75 percent of the world's rubber。 But only one percent of the world's rubber grew under the U。S。 flag， creating a bottleneck that hampered the nation's explosive economic expansion。 To solve its conundrum， the Firestone Tire and Rubber Company turned to a tiny West African nation， Liberia， founded in 1847 as a free Black republic。
Empire of Rubber tells a sweeping story of capitalism， racial exploitation， and environmental devastation， as Firestone transformed Liberia into America's rubber empire。
Historian and filmmaker Gregg Mitman scoured remote archives to unearth a history of promises unfulfilled for the vast numbers of Liberians who toiled on rubber plantations built on taken land。 Mitman reveals a history of racial segregation and medical experimentation that reflected Jim Crow America--on African soil。 As Firestone reaped fortunes， wealth and power concentrated in the hands of a few elites， fostering widespread inequalities that fed unrest， rebellions and， eventually， civil war。
A riveting narrative of ecology and disease， of commerce and science， and of racial politics and political maneuvering， Empire of Rubber uncovers the hidden story of a corporate empire whose tentacles reach into the present。
Reviews
Bill
，
Details details details great book！！！Hidden between some details are some interesting facts， Things to be learned for those not aware of how things get from nature to our privelaged society， and how people tread on others to gain riches，and or Fame！ As I usually am reading two to four books at a time ， this is the only way to get the most out of this book。 Come back to it after a few days away， as you are aware your mind has filed it away ， and rehashed it while you weren’t looking。 So many thin Details details details great book！！！Hidden between some details are some interesting facts， Things to be learned for those not aware of how things get from nature to our privelaged society， and how people tread on others to gain riches，and or Fame！ As I usually am reading two to four books at a time ， this is the only way to get the most out of this book。 Come back to it after a few days away， as you are aware your mind has filed it away ， and rehashed it while you weren’t looking。 So many things are presented to the reader some would like to Wish away。 Our needs seem justified by men of wealth， twisting， rules to punish those on their way，as they long ago lost sight of what America should do。 It isn’t easy to acknowledge as the reader all the efforts they used to try and destroy them。 But it is heartwarming to see how this small country succeeds today。 Bravo to all the work by the author 。 ， 。。。more
Eunice R
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This is a big reveal， whistleblower biography of the purported 'advancement' of the country of Liberia。 Under cover of economic advancement and humanitarian deeds （snort！） to benefit the people of Liberia， the US based Firestone Tire and Rubber Company reigned， or thought they did。 Essentially， they lined and padded their own coffer pockets with great machinations and attempted manipulations， using trusted Firestone employees and cronies （often from high echelons of US government）， to wield much This is a big reveal， whistleblower biography of the purported 'advancement' of the country of Liberia。 Under cover of economic advancement and humanitarian deeds （snort！） to benefit the people of Liberia， the US based Firestone Tire and Rubber Company reigned， or thought they did。 Essentially， they lined and padded their own coffer pockets with great machinations and attempted manipulations， using trusted Firestone employees and cronies （often from high echelons of US government）， to wield much power; attempting to mentally and politically armwrestle， outwit and hoodwink the Liberians。 It was a huge power play but the Liberian Presidents pushed back - almost like a chess match between professional status players。 It would have been amusing if it was not reality。 Kuddos to the Liberians， especially to Prsident Barclay， an intelligent， astute politicaian who knew how to thwart， and to be a thorn-in-the-side of， the Firestones。 The Empire of Rubber， although somewhat rooted and maintained for many decades， in the end， had only a tenuous hold and did not take over Liberia by the covert ways and means it had wished。Historians and history lovers will love this book， which is chock-full of detail and methodically written dates and timelines; although it may make it a plodding read for the less attuned to detail。 There are black and white pictures interspersed among the pages， documenting the years and key players， which supplement the factual historical narrative。Additional information such as Acknowledgements， Notes， About the Author Gregg Mitman and an Index， follow the main comprehensive work of Mitman， who seems to have done his research homework well。 What a mammoth task to which he was obviously equal！ ~Eunice C。， Reviewer/Blogger~ September 2021Disclaimer: This is my honest opinion based on the review copy given by the publisher。 。。。more
Lachlan Finlayson
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I am grateful to NetGalley for providing an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review。The subtitle of this book is “Firestone’s Scramble for Land and Power in Liberia”。 It is published by The New Press， a non-profit， public-interest group。 The author is also a filmmaker and released “The Land Beneath Our Feet” in 2016， covering the same topic。 This is a fascinating， well written book。 It is much more than the story of Akron， Ohio-headquartered Firestone （owned since 1988 by the I am grateful to NetGalley for providing an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review。The subtitle of this book is “Firestone’s Scramble for Land and Power in Liberia”。 It is published by The New Press， a non-profit， public-interest group。 The author is also a filmmaker and released “The Land Beneath Our Feet” in 2016， covering the same topic。 This is a fascinating， well written book。 It is much more than the story of Akron， Ohio-headquartered Firestone （owned since 1988 by the Tokyo-based Bridgestone Corporation） and the rubber plantation and industry it established in Liberia， a never-colonised， self-determined nation in West Africa。 It is also the story of Liberia and how this unique nation evolved。 Liberia was a destination for so-called ‘settlers’。 Freed slaves returning from the US as well as those destined for the US and intercepted in the Atlantic。 Also others who were seeking to live in a Black-governed， sovereign African nation。 Although never a colony， Liberia since the end of slavery has had a benevolent， pseudo-colonial relationship with the US。 The book documents the competing population groups， US， Liberian and other international personalities， institutions and countries involved in this nation during the 19th and 20th century。 Furthermore it is the story of the growth of a global resource industry at the beginning of the 20th century， when rubber was only available as a natural substance， from tropical plantations， largely outside the US and under foreign ownership and control。 During this time， rubber was becoming crucial to industrial progress， including the growing auto-industry。The book covers the rise of the US rubber industry including the search for suitable land and climate for the development of large-scale rubber plantations。 Also important was an amenable foreign government and proximity to the US。 The dominant figure is Harvey Firestone， founder of the Firestone rubber company， friend to powerful political leaders and others powerful individuals including Henry Ford and Thomas Edison。 Liberia came to be identified as a suitable place for Harvey Firestone to investigate a large-scale rubber plantation development。 Land， labour， climate and government were all suitable for his vision。 Global events， including world wars and colonial or post-colonial issues are the background to Firestone developing one of the largest rubber plantations in the world。 This book documents that history and the many inter-related and complex issues involved。 Foremost are several major themes， generally presented by the author in an even， well balance style。 These themes include Capitalism， Foreign Investment， Neo-Colonialism， Sovereignty， National Debt， Foreign Settlers， Indigenous Rights， Traditional Land Ownership， Racism and Labour Rights。 Over decades， these are recurring issues for the Firestone company; perhaps not exactly solved but a rapprochement between stakeholders eventually allows Harvey Firestone’s vision to be accomplished in Liberia。 He then retires from the company with the author noting “…he had never visited the country and never would…”。 His son， Harvey Jr continues and consolidates Firestones development and influence in Liberia into the second half of the 20th century。The influence of US views and attitudes is dominant and well presented。 Personalities representing US industry， politics， economics and academia are deeply involved in the history of Liberia and throughout Firestone’s development there。 Civil Rights leaders play a significant role， with contrasting and sometimes changing views on how best to help this unique African country。 An independent state， albeit with close historical， political and cultural ties to the US。 The book begins with the story of Liberia’s creation as an independent state。 It’s fortunes our the years， good and otherwise， and it’s relationship with the USA。 The major part of the book is dominated with the story of Harvey Firestone， his company in Liberia from the early 20th century， until Firestone’s son， Harvey Jr， retires from the company in the late 1960s。 An Epilogue continues the Firestone Liberia story up to the present day， including issues relating to the post-Cold War period， lengthy periods of conflicts and Civil War during the latter part of the 20th Century。 At the beginning of the 21st Century， Liberia now enjoys relative stability， peace， certain Land Rights and some economic diversity。 Questions posed in the book are related to Firestones relationships with the Liberian Government and people。 The Firestone Liberia development could be seen as an extension of slavery-era US plantations along with the inequalities， racism and other negatives consequences。 Arguments for and against the benefits of foreign capitalism in a neo-colonial environment are made by protagonists from all sides of this debate。 The book explores Liberia experience from the end of slavery in the US and the US Civil War through two World Wars， a Depression， African Independence， Pan-African awakening， the threat of Communism， the Cold War， Civil War and finally a period of stability as the 20th Century ends。 The author concludes that Harvey Firestone’s vision was “immensely beneficial to Firestone。 The Benefits to Liberia are far less clear”。Not explored in this book， but briefly alluded to with the mention of the new $50 million airport （“…financed by China’s Export-Import Bank。”） the influence， indeed dominance of foreign powers in Liberia may be continuing， as will arguments from various viewpoints as to what are the ultimate benefits to the Liberian people。 This is a country I will continue to take an interest in for some time to come。 This is a fascinating book; the reader will learn a lot。 The history of Liberia， the science of rubber plantations， the economics & politics of a major resource business in a developing nation。 In the words of the author， how one dominant company “…reordered relationships of life and land in Liberia。” In parallel is the story of the influence of the US Government in Liberia， plus that of the US Military， Civil Rights movement， University Academics and Public Opinion。 British and European government play a role as do the UN and during earlier times， the League of Nations。 。。。more
Steve
，
Some of the things I liked about the book are the clear writing， its look at broader issues， and the photos。 But， while the subject matter is vitally important， its treatment in this book did not appeal to me。 The book came across to me as a pedantic collection of dates， names and places， that became jumbled together。 I wanted to love the book， but it didn’t work for me and I stopped reading at just over halfway through the book。 Thank you to Netgalley and The New Press for the advance reader co Some of the things I liked about the book are the clear writing， its look at broader issues， and the photos。 But， while the subject matter is vitally important， its treatment in this book did not appeal to me。 The book came across to me as a pedantic collection of dates， names and places， that became jumbled together。 I wanted to love the book， but it didn’t work for me and I stopped reading at just over halfway through the book。 Thank you to Netgalley and The New Press for the advance reader copy。 。。。more
Erin
，
Thank you to NetGalley and The New Press for the opportunity to read Empire of Rubber by Gregg Mitman so that I may provide an honest review。 Gregg Mitman's extensive research of the complicated subject of the Firestone Company's involvement in Liberia results in a compelling work of narrative nonfiction。 Having grown up in North central Ohio where the Firestone family name was revered， their grand house toured， the golf tournament named for the company attended， I found this a particularly enli Thank you to NetGalley and The New Press for the opportunity to read Empire of Rubber by Gregg Mitman so that I may provide an honest review。 Gregg Mitman's extensive research of the complicated subject of the Firestone Company's involvement in Liberia results in a compelling work of narrative nonfiction。 Having grown up in North central Ohio where the Firestone family name was revered， their grand house toured， the golf tournament named for the company attended， I found this a particularly enlightening look at the cruel human and environmental exploitation that was the foundation of their fortunes。 I recommend King Leopold's Ghost by Adam Hochschild， which I read earlier this year， as a companion book to Empire of Rubber。 This is not an easy read， but nonetheless an important one。 。。。more
Michael
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Comic Maria Bamford， in a funny reference to the Monroe Doctrine， said about a neighbor's property， "It feels like it's mine。" Reading Gregg Mitman's new book "Empire of Rubber，" one gets the sense that the Firestone Company feel that very same way about Liberia。 This is a compelling look at a fairly unknown bit of American history。 It's a story of profiteering， racism， and misguided nation-building cloaked in America's vision of the world in the early to mid-20th century。 It's a well-researched Comic Maria Bamford， in a funny reference to the Monroe Doctrine， said about a neighbor's property， "It feels like it's mine。" Reading Gregg Mitman's new book "Empire of Rubber，" one gets the sense that the Firestone Company feel that very same way about Liberia。 This is a compelling look at a fairly unknown bit of American history。 It's a story of profiteering， racism， and misguided nation-building cloaked in America's vision of the world in the early to mid-20th century。 It's a well-researched history that makes for a fascinating read。 Thanks to NetGalley for the chance to get an early read of the book， too。 #NetGalley 。。。more
Adam Windsor
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