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Henry and Edsel: The Creation of the Ford Empire

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  • List Price: $27.95
  • Studio: Wiley
  • Avg. Customer Rating: 3.5 Stars
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Product Details

Editorial Reviews

Product Description: An Epic Battle of Generations

It is commonly believed that Henry Ford was a dynamic, innovative visionary who ran his company with an iron hand and an eye to the future–while his son Edsel was a weak, if dutiful, heir and an uninspired manager, who followed his father’s orders. Henry and Edsel, the first biography to focus on both father and son, turns that common belief on its ear.

Offering a daring new perspective on the human drama that changed the shape of Ford Motor company, author Richard Bak explores the ongoing friction between Henry and Edsel over adapting to a changing competitive environment and lays bare the stark contrasts between the two men. Henry emerges as a complex and self-contradictory man who was not entirely comfortable in the new world that he had done so much to create, while Edsel is revealed as a gifted, levelheaded, and imaginative businessman with a keen sense of where the market was headed. Among the many issues examined in this fascinating history are:

  • The years-long conflict over modifying the Model T
  • Edsel’s successful development of the Lincoln Continental
  • Henry’s hatred of labor unions and the rise of Henry Bennett
  • Edsel’s relentless struggle to modernize and transform the company
  • The climactic struggle between Henry, Edsel, and Henry Bennett for control of the Ford empire

Customer Reviews

 
A Good Read!
Reviewer: Rolf Dobelli (Switzerland), Date of review: April 29, 2004
Avg. Customer Rating: 4 Stars

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

Richard Bak is a long-time resident of Detroit and Dearborn, Michigan, and doubtless absorbed much of the Ford legacy simply by growing up in a place that Ford formed. This book is not exactly a corporate history, not exactly a biography and not exactly a tell-all celebrity book, but it has elements of each. The most interesting pieces include the extended reminiscences by people who lived and worked closely with the Fords, and especially with Edsel's family. He has long lingered in the shadow of his famous father and it is somewhat surprising to discover that he had some fine qualities. These reminiscences have poignant moments that establish the veracity of any number of proverbs on money, happiness and the foibles of the great. The book is reasonably well written and fairly concise. It recapitulates the essentials of the Ford story, though it glances over the evolution of management and organization at the company. We assure you that you'll get the full Ford saga here, though you may have to extrapolate the business lessons it teaches for yourself.
A Good Read!
Reviewer: Rolf Dobelli (Switzerland), Date of review: March 08, 2004
Avg. Customer Rating: 4 Stars

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

Richard Bak is a long-time resident of Detroit and Dearborn, Michigan, and doubtless absorbed much of the Ford legacy simply by growing up in a place that Ford formed. This book is not exactly a corporate history, not exactly a biography and not exactly a tell-all celebrity book, but it has elements of each. The most interesting pieces include the extended reminiscences by people who lived and worked closely with the Fords, and especially with Edsel's family. He has long lingered in the shadow of his famous father and it is somewhat surprising to discover that he had some fine qualities. These reminiscences have poignant moments that establish the veracity of any number of proverbs on money, happiness and the foibles of the great. The book is reasonably well written and fairly concise. It recapitulates the essentials of the Ford story, though it glances over the evolution of management and organization at the company. We assure you that you'll get the full Ford saga here, though you may have to extrapolate the business lessons it teaches for yourself.
Well documented.
Reviewer: MLPlayfair (Ravenna, OH), Date of review: October 09, 2003
Avg. Customer Rating: 3 Stars

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

HENRY AND EDSEL offers insight into the characters of Henry and Edsel Ford and what it was that compelled them. The book presents a strong sense of time and the Fords' presence in and contribution to the events around them. The book is filled with interesting anecdotes. The best part for me were the several chapters called "rearview mirror" -- accounts written by eyewitnesses who recorded their version of important events: Edsel's death, the riots, etc. The author also introduced us to some of the hard workers and bright people Henry surrounded himself with in order to get to the top. One person CAN change the world -- but almost never alone.