Henry Ford Popular Books
Henry Ford Biography & Facts
Henry Ford (July 30, 1863 – April 7, 1947) was an American industrialist and business magnate. As founder of the Ford Motor Company, he is credited as a pioneer in making automobiles affordable for middle-class Americans through the Fordism system. In 1911, he was awarded a patent for the transmission mechanism that would be used in the Model T and other automobiles. Ford was born in a farmhouse in Michigan's Springwells Township, leaving home at age 16 to find work in Detroit. It was a few years before this time that Ford first experienced automobiles, and throughout the later half of the 1880s, Ford began repairing and later constructing engines, and through the 1890s worked with a division of Edison Electric. He officially founded the Ford Motor Company in 1903, after prior failures in business but success in constructing automobiles. Ford's 1908 introduction of the Model T automobile is credited with having revolutionized both transportation and American industry. As the Ford Motor Company sole owner, "he became one of the richest and best-known people in the world." Aside from "Fordism", Ford was also among the pioneers of the five-day workweek. Ford believed that consumerism was a key to global peace. His commitment to systematically lowering costs resulted in many technical and business innovations, including a franchise system that put dealerships throughout North America and major cities on six continents. Ford was known for his pacifism during the first years of World War I, although during the war his company became a major supplier of weapons. He promoted the League of Nations. In the 1920s Ford promoted antisemitism through his newspaper The Dearborn Independent and the book The International Jew. He opposed United States entry into World War II, and served for a time on the America First Committee board. After his son Edsel died in 1943, Ford resumed control of the company but was too frail to make decisions and quickly came under the control of subordinates. He turned over the company to his grandson Henry Ford II in 1945. He died in 1947 after leaving most of his wealth to the Ford Foundation, and control of the company to his family. Early life Henry Ford was born July 30, 1863, on a farm in Springwells Township, Michigan. His father, William Ford (1826–1905), was born in County Cork, Ireland, to a family that had emigrated from Somerset, England in the 16th century. His mother, Mary Ford (née Litogot; 1839–1876), was born in Michigan as the youngest child of Belgian immigrants; her parents died when she was a child and she was adopted by neighbors, the O'Herns. Henry Ford's siblings were John Ford (1865-1927); Margaret Ford (1867–1938); Jane Ford (c. 1868–1945); William Ford (1871–1917) and Robert Ford (1873–1877). Ford finished eighth grade at a one-room school, Springwells Middle School. He never attended high school; he later took a bookkeeping course at a commercial school.His father gave him a pocket watch when he was 12. At 15, Ford dismantled and reassembled the timepieces of friends and neighbors dozens of times, gaining the reputation of a watch repairman. At twenty, Ford walked four miles to their Episcopal church every Sunday.Ford was devastated when his mother died in 1876. His father expected him to take over the family farm eventually, but he despised farm work. He later wrote, "I never had any particular love for the farm—it was the mother on the farm I loved."In 1879, Ford left home to work as an apprentice machinist in Detroit, first with James F. Flower & Bros., and later with the Detroit Dry Dock Co. In 1882, he returned to Dearborn to work on the family farm, where he became adept at operating the Westinghouse portable steam engine. He was later hired by Westinghouse to service their steam engines.Ford said two significant events occurred in 1875 when he was 12: he received the watch, and he witnessed the operation of a Nichols and Shepard road engine, "...the first vehicle other than horse-drawn that I had ever seen". In his farm workshop, Ford built a "steam wagon or tractor" and a steam car, but thought "steam was not suitable for light vehicles," as "the boiler was dangerous." Ford also said that he "did not see the use of experimenting with electricity, due to the expense of trolley wires, and "no storage battery was in sight of a weight that was practical." In 1885, Ford repaired an Otto engine, and in 1887 he built a four-cycle model with a one-inch bore and a three-inch stroke. In 1890, Ford started work on a two-cylinder engine. Ford said, "In 1892, I completed my first motor car, powered by a two-cylinder four horsepower motor, with a two-and-half-inch bore and a six-inch stroke, which was connected to a countershaft by a belt and then to the rear wheel by a chain. The belt was shifted by a clutch lever to control speeds at 10 or 20 miles per hour, augmented by a throttle. Other features included 28-inch wire bicycle wheels with rubber tires, a foot brake, a 3-gallon gasoline tank, and later, a water jacket around the cylinders for cooling. Ford added that "in the spring of 1893 the machine was running to my partial satisfaction and giving an opportunity further to test out the design and material on the road." Between 1895 and 1896, Ford drove that machine about 1000 miles. He then started a second car in 1896, eventually building three of them in his home workshop. Marriage and family Ford married Clara Jane Bryant (1866–1950) on April 11, 1888, and supported himself by farming and running a sawmill. They had one child, Edsel Ford (1893–1943). Career In 1891, Ford became an engineer with the Edison Illuminating Company of Detroit. After his promotion to Chief Engineer in 1893, he had enough time and money to devote attention to his experiments on gasoline engines. These experiments culminated in 1896 with the completion of a self-propelled vehicle, which he named the Ford Quadricycle. He test-drove it on June 4. After various test drives, Ford brainstormed ways to improve the Quadricycle.Also in 1896, Ford attended a meeting of Edison executives, where he was introduced to Thomas Edison. Edison approved of Ford's automobile experimentation. Encouraged by Edison, Ford designed and built a second vehicle, completing it in 1898. Backed by the capital of Detroit lumber baron William H. Murphy, Ford resigned from the Edison Company and founded the Detroit Automobile Company on August 5, 1899. However, the automobiles produced were of a lower quality and higher price than Ford wanted. Ultimately, the company was not successful and was dissolved in January 1901.With the help of C. Harold Wills, Ford designed, built, and successfully raced a 26-horsepower automobile in October 1901. With this success, Murphy and other stockholders in the Detroit Automobile Company formed the Henry Ford Company on November 30, 1901, with Ford as chief engineer. In 1902, Murphy brought in Henry M. Leland as a consultant; Ford, in r.... Discover the Henry Ford popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Henry Ford books.
Best Seller Henry Ford Books of 2024
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Henry Ford
50MinutesKeen to learn but short on time? Get to grips with the life of Henry Ford in next to no time with this concise guide.50Minutes.com provides a clear and engaging analysis of the lif...
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Expiration Dates
Rebecca SerleFrom the New York Times bestselling author of In Five Years and One Italian Summer comes a love story that will define a generation. Being single is like playing the lottery. There...
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Henry Ford
David LongWhy is Henry Ford a giant? Because he put the world on wheels. Henry Ford did not invent the motor car, nor did he invent the assembly line or mass production. But more than anyone...
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What the Mountains Remember
Joy Callaway“Joy Calloway weaves a dramatic, heartfelt story of self discovery and a hardwon love against the stunning backdrop the ‘Eighth Wonder of the World.’” Mary Alice Monroe, ...
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Henry Ford
Emily JamesExplore the life and achievements of Henry Ford. Photographs, a timeline, and easytoread text tell the story of this great inventor.
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Henry Ford for Kids
Ronald A. ReisHenry Ford for Kids provides an indepth portrait of the man who "put America on wheels." You'll learn about Ford's childhood on a Michigan farm, where the budding engineer loved to...
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Henry Ford
Jörg Achim ZollGute Ideen gibt es viele konsequent zum Erfolg geführt werden nur wenige. Wer bei aller Kreativität auch den festen Willen zum Erfolg besitzt, kann viel bewegen. Henry Ford hat da...
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Mobituaries
Mo RoccaFrom beloved CBS Sunday Morning correspondent and humorist Mo Rocca, a rigorously researched, “funny and smart” (Jon Stewart) book that celebrates the dead people who have long fas...
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Bezonomics
Brian DumaineAn “illuminating, lucid, and finely detailed” (The Washington Post) look at Amazon’s worlddominating business model, the current competitors either imitating or trying to outfox Am...
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American Capitalism
Louis Hyman & Edward E. BaptistFrom Cornell University Professors Louis Hyman and Edward E. Baptist, a collection of the most relevant readings on the history of capitalism in America, created to accompany their...
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Tractor Wars
Neil Dahlstrom"Mr. Dahlstrom...has written a superb history of the tractor and this longforgotten period of capitalism in U.S. agriculture. We now know the whole story of when farming, business ...
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Henry Ford
Vincent CurcioMost great figures in American history reveal great contradictions, and Henry Ford is no exception. He championed his workers, offering unprecedented wages, yet crushed their attem...
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The Mysterious Case of Rudolf Diesel
Douglas BruntThis instant New York Times bestselling “dynamic detective story” (The New York Times) reveals the hidden history Rudolf Diesel, one of the world’s greatest inventors, and his myst...
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Hank and Jim
Scott Eyman“[A] remarkably absorbing, supremely entertaining joint biography” (The New York Times) from bestselling author Scott Eyman about the remarkable friendship of Henry Fonda and James...
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Fordlandia
Greg GrandinFrom Pulitzer Prizewinning author Greg Grandin comes the stunning, never before told story of the quixotic attempt to recreate smalltown America in the heart of the AmazonIn 1927...
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Visions Of Technology
Richard RhodesTechnology was the blessing and the bane of the twentieth century. Human life span nearly doubled in the West, but in no century were more human beings killed by new technologies o...
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My Life and Work
Henry FordThis book is the original autobiographical work by Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company. In this book, Ford details how he got into business, the strategies that he used t...
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Ragtime
E.L. DoctorowSelected by the Modern Library as one of the 100 best novels of all timePublished in 1975, Ragtime changed our very concept of what a novel could be. An extraordinary tapestry, Ra...
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Henry Ford
Henry Ford & Eino Voionmaa"Elämäni ja työni" on Henry Fordin omaelämäkerta. Tämä Samuel Crowtherin avulla kirjoitettu teos kuvaa yhden amerikkalaisten suurimman yrittäjän ja liikemiehen nousua ja menestystä...
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Elon Musk VS Henry Ford
Jordan C. MillerOne Little Book Two Big HeroesElon Musk and Henry ford are two men who literally did what the world said was impossible.These two men completely changed the course of history in ma...
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Once in a Great City
David Maraniss“A fascinating political, racial, economic, and cultural tapestry” (Detroit Free Press), Once in a Great City is a tour de force from David Maraniss about the quintessential Americ...
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American Icon
Bryce G. HoffmanThe inside story of the epic turnaround of Ford Motor Company under the leadership of CEO Alan Mulally. At the end of 2008, Ford Motor Company was just months away from runnin...
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Lourdes
Ruth HarrisLourdes was at the very centre of nineteenth century debates on religion, science and medicine. Both the Church and secularists championed the 'miracle' town as crucial in shapin...
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Henry Ford
Rev. Samuel S. MarquisFirst published in 1923, this biography is widely regarded by many automotive historians as the finest and most dispassionate character study of Henry Ford ever written. Written by...
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Henry Ford
Paolo BeltramiUn ritratto a tutto tondo di uno dei più importanti e innovativi imprenditori del XX secolo, che seppe trasformare un piccolo sogno in una grande realtà. La figura di Henry Ford è ...
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Flat Out and Half Turned Over
Buddy Baker & David PooleIn Flat Out and Half Turned Over, driving phenomenon Buddy Baker details the most hilarious collection of racing stories, memories, and anecdotes ever published. Read about the bum...
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The Car
Bryan AppleyardA spirited, insightful exploration of our favorite machine and it's cultural impact on society over the past one hundred and fifty years.More than any other technology, cars have t...
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America, 1908
Jim Rasenberger“An entertaining survey” (Publishers Weekly) through the highs and lows of a spectacular, pivotal year in American history1908.A captivating look at a bygone era through the lens o...
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Henry Ford
Samuel S. MarquisA reprint of the rare and controversial biography of Henry Ford, first published in 1923, written by Ford’s close associate.
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Henry Ford
Sara WernhamHenry Ford is part of the Jolly Phonics Readers Level 4 Nonfiction series. It is the fourth of four levels of decodable books, providing the best start for children just start...
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Henry Ford
Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield VillageWith centuries of literature, it's inevitable that some will fall through the cracks. We hunt down public domain works and restore them so they're not lost to the world. Who are w...
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Henry Ford
50Minutos.esEste libro es una guía práctica y accesible para saber más sobre Henry Ford, que le aportará la información esencial y le permitirá ganar tiempo.En tan solo 50 minutos, usted podrá...
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The Wizard of Menlo Park
Randall E. StrossThomas Edison’s greatest invention? His own fame.At the height of his fame Thomas Alva Edison was hailed as “the Napoleon of invention” and blazed in the public imagination as a vi...
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Henry Ford
Bernard A. WeisbergerA ruggedly independent, often bullheaded genius, Henry Ford was scarred by battles with bankers, labor unions, newspapers, and courts. He had been denounced as a tyrant and a crank...
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Nixon Volume III
Stephen E. AmbroseIn Nixon: Ruin and Recovery, 19731990, Stephen E. Ambrose completes his acclaimed biography of the man many historians call the most fascinating politician in American history: Ric...
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Ibn Saud
Barbara Bray & Michael DarlowIbn Saud grew to manhood living the harsh traditional life of the desert nomad, a life that had changed little since the days of Abraham. Equipped with immense physical courage, he...