Reviews

Performing the same magnificent feat for Henry Ford as he did for Walt Disney (in The Magic Kingdom), historian Watts offers a magisterial and balanced biography of one of America's business legends. As a farm boy in Michigan, Ford (1863-1947) followed the beat of his own drum, avoiding hard work but watching farm machinery with fascination. He objected to wasting physical energy when a machine could accomplish the same task in less time, and spent much of his leisure taking watches apart and rebuilding them to learn about their mechanisms. Once he moved to Detroit, Ford worked as an engineer at the Edison Illuminating Company, where he quickly became famous for his ability to patch up engines. Then, in 1898, he invented the prototype of his Model A car, secured investors to set up a business and established the first unit of what would become the Ford Motor Company. Watts deftly traces Ford's rise to fame and the innovations, such as the "five-dollar" workday, which doubled factory workers' salaries, that he brought to the workplace, while a chapter titled "Bigot" delineates his notorious anti-Semitism. Watts also brilliantly reveals the contradictions of Ford's business philosophy and his personal and work life. While Ford thought of himself as a man of the people and strove to improve working conditions and wages in his factory, for example, he opposed unions. As Watts points out, Ford embodied both the promises and pitfalls of modern American democracy: "its devotion to opportunity, openness to new ideas, [and] lack of pretension" as well as its anti-intellectualism and "faith in the redemptive power of material goods." Agent, Ronald Goldfarb. (Aug.) Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

"The implicit claim of Watts's admirable book is almost inarguable-that it's impossible to understand 20th-century America without knowing the story of Henry Ford." -"The New York Times"
"Ford has had many biographers. . . . None, however, comes close to Steven Watts. . . . He brilliantly reveals the nature of Ford's genius." -"Chicago Tribune"
"Steven Watts attempts the most integrated understanding to date of Ford's enormous influence and varied appeal. . . . The fascinating result may change the way Henry Ford is remembered." -"San Francisco Chronicle"

In this outstanding biography, Watts (history, Univ. of Missouri), author of the intriguing and well-received The Magic Kingdom: Walt Disney and the American Way of Life, turns his considerable talents to an in-depth and remarkable investigation of the life and times of Henry Ford. Building on earlier studies, such as Allan Nevins's three-volume biography, and complementing recent work on the Ford family and the company by historians like Douglas Brinkley (Wheels for the World), Watts brings to life the complicated Ford, who could promote educational attainment for all children while at the same time fomenting unbridled hatred toward all Jewish people. Watts provides a sophisticated analysis and helps readers understand both Ford and the culture within which he thrived. An exceptional biography of an exceptional man; highly recommended.-Ed Goedeken, Iowa State Univ. Lib., Ames Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.