Challenging conventional wisdom, Eamonn Fingleton argues that manufacturing expertise-- not the new information economy--is crucial to jobs, exports, and growth. It is universally accepted that the future of the U.S. economy depends on its successful adaptation to a postindustrial, information-based global economy. The same conventional wisdom says that advanced economies should abandon manufacturing in favor of information-driven services such as finance, entertainment, and software. In this book, Eamonn Fingleton demonstrates that by every measure, including high-wage job creation, contribution to national income, and balance of trade, the manufacturing sector outperforms the "new economy." In Praise of hard industries argues with compelling logic that America's long-term economic success depends on its strategic advantage as a manufacturer of sophisticated equipment and producer goods.