The People's Tycoon: Henry Ford And The American Century (2006) - Plot & Excerpts
A superb business biography, on a par with my favorite biography of all time, Ron Cernow's TITAN. Steven Watts does an outstanding job in presenting the numerous contradictions of the character of Henry Ford, who turned out to be a much more fascinating individual than I had expected him to be. I intend to add much more to this review, but in summary I found it amazing that a man of Ford's huge vision, who could foresee how his concepts of inexpensive and easy to maintain automobiles for the masses, assembly line production, and high wages for his earners would transform American society for the benefit of ordinary mena and women, could at the same time turn out to be such a hateful anti-Semite, a cruel and emotionally abusive father, and an avowed foe of organized labor. And this is only the start of the many intricacies layers of Ford's life.While this is a very well researched and scholarly biography, I couldn't but be at times enthusiastically motivated or quite appalled at many of the events related in this book. The first third of the book is filled with wonderful examples of the former, as the author tells of Ford's ingenuity in developing the technology that would make his Model T so easy to drive, his entrepreneurial commitment to becoming and staying in power as the head of his corporation, and his shrewed methods for finding and keeping great subordinates (in the early days of his company), mastering his business environment, gaining favorable publicity, and growing his company. The last half of the book relates numerous examples of Ford's abuses, as Ford allows his power and popularity to go to his head, and ultimately dooms his company into losing market share to General Motors and becoming a secondary power in the American marketplace, a position from which the company will likely never recover. More significantly on a human scale, we learn of how Ford brutalized most of his top managers by allowing Harry Bennett and his thugs to gain more and more control over the company. I couldn't help but thinking that the young Henry Ford would never tolerate the abuses of people and production that the older Henry Ford instigated, and remain mystified as to how the character of the man could have changed so much over the course of his life.I attribute my emotional reactions and great interest in Ford's character to both the skillful writing by author Watts and the fine narration of the text by John Mayer, as I actually listened to the unabridged CD version all the way through (which took me about six weeks from start to finish). About halfway through the book I borrowed the actual book from the library to check source material for documentation on some of the most interesting episodes and people covered in the text. I am sure I will re-visit Henry Ford again soon, and will likely pick up my own copy of this particular book for a careful reading of the entire text at the earliest opportunity, as this has become of my favorite biographies. I am also curious to see how thhis biography stands up against other biographies of Ford, most notable Douglas Brinkley's history of the Ford Motor Company.Bottom line: highly recommended for anyone with an interest in business and industrial history or in the American automobile industry.
Around 100 years ago Henry Ford had an idea that made him a billionaire. Today's business folks (aka Republicans) seem to have forgotten the concept entirely: "The people who consume the bulk of the goods [and services] are the people who make them. That is a fact we must never forget - that is the secret of our prosperity," and, I add, the antithesis of "trickle-down" economics.This and so much else is included in the recent Henry Ford biography, The People's Tycoon, by Steven Watts. Though it's not mentioned or implied, Henry Ford's life reads like a dyslexic with Asperger's Syndrome. Ford didn't read and probably couldn't - given the opportunity to read in a court trial, he refused. His staff learned to that he preferred to hear their ideas, and probably wouldn't read them anyway. This aversion to reading included mechanical/architectural drawings, where the successful presented their boss with scale models.While this theoretical dyslexia might have been a drawback, the possible Asperger's, like that of many successful entrepreneurs, perhaps even the Republican front-runner (written in January 2011), allowed Ford to push forward his business with little regard to family, associates, and employees. For example, Ford Motor Company, was his third automotive start-up. In all three cases, he pushed forward with no regard for his partners, who either lost their investment when the enterprise failed, or were forced out when the enterprise was a success.While he was undoubtedly a mechanical genius, outside the development labs, he managed his company with a reign of chaos, pitting managers against managers, embarrassing and belittling his family members, and hiring thugs that terrorized everyone.In his public life he championed a wide range of causes including promotion of 19th-century Victorian values and lifestyles - in sharp contrast to his own life which included many estares with all the modern conveniences, usually including a private power plant, and a long-term mistress living on an estate nearby. His also funded a cruise to Europe to prevent World War I, and extensive antisemitic publications and activities.On numerous occasions FMC went against public opinion, such as when Henry Ford refused to abandon the obsolete Model-T or join the war efforts. In these cases, the company finally came around. In Ford's later years, the author ascribes this independent behavior to oncoming dementia, but this pattern of ignoring people seems to have been a constant from the beginning.I found book to be comprehensive and fascinating. Though the author's intent was clearly to be positive, the undertone was certainly dark and dangerous. The always brief mentions of emotional and physical pain caused by Ford's actions and inactions seemed to be just the tip of an iceberg of a darkness that was funded by Ford's millions.Overall an excellent books, that explained everything, except how did this insensitive person become one of the richest and most influential people of the 20th century? Or maybe that is the explanation...http://1book42day.blogspot.com/2012/0...
What do You think about The People's Tycoon: Henry Ford And The American Century (2006)?
I readily admit I read this book primarily due to my interest in the time period, particularly concerning the nascent American automotive industry and especially the development of the Model T.The strength of this book is that in many places it is as much a Social History of turn-of-the-last-century America as it is a chronicle of Henry Ford. This is explained by the fact that American social history is the author's area of expertise. I also enjoyed the early chapters describing Ford's early life and development, and the development of his automotive inventions.The book misses 4 stars because this biography needed far more detail of Ford Motor Co. history woven into it. Once the Model T is under production, the automotive industry is almost completely set aside except as an afterthought, or something going on in the background. For instance, there is no real mention of Lincoln or Mercury, and no more than a passing mention of Ford's forays into aviation w/ the "Flivver" plane or the Ford tri-motor. I also felt like there was a big gap in Ford's activities in Latin American w/ no mention of his rubber plantation (Fordlandia)! While important, the author just spends too much time on Ford's pacifistic activities and his terrible anti-semitism.The bottom line is that neither myself nor anyone else would be reading about Henry Ford at all were it not for the Model T and the Ford Motor Company. More industrial history absolutely needed. 3 stars.
—Aaron Kleinheksel
This biography of one of America's most fascinating individuals, was very enlightening. I never knew he had a rocky relationship with his son, Edsel, or his anti-Semantic views. I never knew he had espoused social causes, even developing a sociology department within his company in the early years. I was interested to learn his close relationship with Thomas Edison and was surprised about his friendship with George Washington Carver.I enjoy an occasional biography. I wish the author had spent less time on Ford's social causes and more time on the development of the automobile. I was disappointed the book didn't cover more about the Edsel brand but later learned the car did not make it's debut until the 1950's.The CD was 29 hours and 34 minutes long and read by John H. Mayer. It would receive an endorsement but not a ringing one. Read it (or listen to it) if you want, but there must be more interesting biographies of Ford out there.
—Kent
This is a very interesting biography of the mechanical and assembly line genius, Henry Ford. In his time, Ford was considered one of the turn of the century’s (19th-20th) American giants and he took advantage of his celebrity status to constantly publicly comment on a wide variety of issues of which he had little knowledge. He spun himself as a “farmer’s boy” with good common sense and was able to pull this off most of the time but not always. At times, his ignorance as well as his anti-Semitism were all too evident. Watts also delves into Ford’s complex relationships with his father, his son, and his co-workers. The author argues that while Ford may have had great skill in organizing work on the factory floor, in the company’s offices, he regularly pitted his well-chosen and skillful executives against one another and created an unpleasant and ultimately untenable atmosphere.
—Joanna
