Anyone ever read "Ford: The Men and the Machine"

[Ovaltine]

For grins, I pulled out my copy of "Ford: The Men and the Machine" by Robert Lacey tonight. It's from 1986, so it ends with Henry II (the "Deuce") still alive and *somewhat* at the helm still.

 

Great reading! The first half of the book is the complete scoop on the original Henry, followed by the good, the bad, and the ugly on Henry II.

 

It's out of print now, but there are used copy's at Amazon. Your local library may have it too.

 

Here's some info from and about the book. I think you'll find it interesting.

 

On May 10, 1979, Henry II chaired his last Ford Stockholder's meeting. Since his brother Benson's son (Benson Jr.) was at war with the family with the help of Iaccoca and Roy Cohn the lawyer, Henry II had this to say to the attendees:

 

"Since this is a time for frankness," he continued, "I have decided to make it clear beyond a shadow of a coubt... The ownership of B stock is no passport to a top position in Ford, either on its board of directors or its management. It confers no special privilege. If any other member of my family achieves a senior position in the company, it will be through merit and by a decision of the board of directors. There are no crown princes in the Ford Motor Company."

 

Further on, the book states:

 

"So, just like his father and grandfather, Edsel Ford II wold not be where he is today if he were not a Ford, and, also like his father, he is not going to get to the top unless he can disassociate himself in quite a distinct fashion from the regime of the Ford who preceded him. The problem is the same for his bright younger cousin, William Clay Ford Jr., who, at the age of twenty-nine, is also moving fast through the company, but who will not face the real challenge for another dozen years."

 

A little ironic looking back now, eh? The author was about dead-nuts on with the timing too. 1986 + 12 = 1998 (the date for Bill Jr.'s possible 'ascension'). Compare it to this statement on the Ford website:

 

"A member of the board since 1988, Mr. Ford (Bill Jr.) was elected chairman in September 1998, and took office on Jan. 1, 1999. " Spooky!

 

Finally, a possible foreshadowing of things to come can be seen in this article. Be sure to pay attention to the last line Edsel says. Looking above, we can see where he heard it before!

 

Henry Ford III joins the family business - February 2006

http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/artic.../602130385/1148

 

Also see: http://globalautosystems.com/index.php?opt...48&Itemid=2

 

 

This book is a great read though. I highly recommend it! I hope he does a follow up on it at some point.

 

-Ovaltine

 

 

 

Used copies available here:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/customer-...155&s=books

 

 

A review from an Amazon reviewer:

 

"Sensational, Definitive and Entertaining! A Must Have!, July 31, 2001

Reviewer: Matthew Diamond (Seattle, Wash.) - See all my reviews

"Ford: The Men and the Machine" is the most definitive and complete book about the life and happenings of automotive's greatest man, Henry Ford. His accomplishments as cited cannot compare to any other single figure in automobile history (or even business itself).

 

The book is nothing short of epic: over 800 pages and 36 chapters, plus appendices. It starts off with the author's assessment of Ford's total contribution to life, starting at Dearborn Michigan in 1831. The details are all-inclusive and mind boggling, right down to Henry's Sister's comments about his early days repairing watches. The book moves slowly and steadily through Part One, "The Rise of Henry Ford" to Parts Two and Three, "Glory Days" and "Grass-Roots Hero." Here the reader is given the unbiased account of even the thoughts of young Henry, and how he became so fascinated with what was then the latest thing: the gasoline engine, which he saw in 1877 from a trip to Machinery Hall in Philadelphia. We are given the full story behind Ford's rise to power over other prominent automotive men of his time, such as the Duryea and the Dodge Bros., and particularly Henry Selden. I found it exciting to read about how Ford didn't give in to a greedy, money-hungry individual like Selden who had no real engineering talent, but wanted only to rake in the royalties from his so-called gasoline engine that he patented in 1895 (it didn't even work as illustrated in his diagram, and Selden didn't even have a working model in an automobile until 1904--it went five yards and died!). Ford held out through more than 10 years of court battles over the legal implications of the Selden patent, and won. After that, there was no doubt that Ford had firmly established himself as a "man for the people." The victory over the Selden patent allowed ALL automobile manufacturers to keep their prices affordable.

 

Part Four, "Henry and Edsel" describes the business relationship with his firstborn son, and their occasional public disputes over company policies and overall business strategies. Henry bitterly opposed automoible financing, for example, but Edsel was all for it. Edsel was right, too, it was the only way to sell cars to lower-income buyers. Of course, the whole story behind the biggest flop in automotive history, the Edsel car itself, is revealed. What happened? How much money was lost? What were the shortcomings of the Edsel that ultimately was its demise? "...The Men and the Machine" will tell you, without room for doubts.

 

In fact, as part of the research I'm doing for an automotive book of my own, I noticed at least three other authors in my bibliography that referenced this same book, perhaps Lacey's greatest achievement.

 

Parts 5 and 6, "Henry II" and "Henry and Lee" gradually move more away from the business side of the Ford Machine--but not altogether away--and gradually reveal personal aspects of later Ford generations and their family relationships. Discussed are the development and marketing plans of the Mustang and Pinto which, ironically, were diametrically opposed to each other as complete success and utter failure.

 

This book is worth double the money. Sometimes I am amazed at the length Lacey went to get his sources, over 50 pages of specific and varied references. I feel fortunate to have a copy that is in good shape. Every time I open the pages, I learn something new. Each page informs, educates and increases depth of thinking, in that sometimes what appears to be a single invention is only a hub to other spokes of development. "...the men and the Machine" actually helps me to think better overall. I can then apply the underlying techniques to all situations in life; consider that one thing leads to another, and if this happens, then it will affect that and that, and so on. If you have even the slightest interest in automotive development, automobile history, American Culture or the person of Henry Ford himself, do not be without this book. Buy it today. My highest recommendation for all readers over 14 (reading level)."

Edited September 14, 2006 by Ovaltine

[RichardJensen]

Also worth reading:

 

Ford, the Dust and the Glory by Leo Levine (in print, published at outrageous 'text book prices' by SAE), volumes 1 & 2. Volume 1 is especially solid, covering the many connections between Ford's F1, Nascar, Champ car, and road racing efforts, back when it was possible for a guy like F1 great Jimmy Clark to enter Nascar's Riverside 500.

 

And win it.

 

http://www.alibris.com/search/search.cfm?q...s*listing*title

 

Another solid read is Allan Nevins' & Frank Earnest Hill's "Ford"--a three volume work that covers Henry Ford's professional life and Ford Motor Company up to 1962

 

V. 1: Ford: The Times, The Man, The Company covers Henry Ford's life, and Ford Motor up to 1914.

 

V. 2: Ford: Expansion and Challenge covers 1915-1933

 

V. 3: Ford: Decline and Rebirth covers 1933-1962

 

Nevins' and Hill's work is referenced more than once in Robert Lacey's "The men and the machine"

 

Noteworthy in Nevins' book is coverage of Ford's WWII saga (both in the U.S., and in Germany), and the union battles. This set also discusses in depth Ford's European and (IIRC) SA operations--how they got started, and, in Europe, how they dealt with the displacement taxes aimed at the Model T, and the post-war reconstruction.

 

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detai...6ATRXK?v=glance

Edited September 14, 2006 by RichardJensen