Author Description

"Henry and Edsel is the first biography to focus on both the legendary founder of the Ford Motor Company and the son who led the company's transformation from successful manufacturer to business empire. Author Richard Bak offers a daring new perspective on the human drama that changed the shape of Ford. He examines the ongoing friction between Henry and Edsel over adapting to a changing competitive environment and lays bare the stark contrasts between the two men - both their personalities and their approach to the design, construction, and marketing of automobiles." "In these pages, Henry Ford 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. Renowned as an innovator, he resisted desperately needed changes in his own company - everything from painting cars any color other than black to providing financing for car buyers.^ A self-styled friend of the working man, he despised labor unions and appointed the ruthless Henry Bennett to squash any hint of unionization at Ford." "Among the many surprises in this fascinating exploration of the ultimate family business run by the quintessential business family is its portrait of Edsel Ford. Often viewed as a weak and ineffectual manager, Edsel is revealed as a gifted, levelheaded, and imaginative businessman with a keen sense of where the market was headed. When the company's very survival was at stake during the tumultuous 1920s and 1930s, it was Edsel who envisioned and pushed for the daring changes that turned Ford into a powerful, modern corporation." "Another compelling character in this classic American story is Henry Bennett, often referred to as Ford's second son. A hard-drinking barroom brawler in his youth, Bennett rose through sheer toughness and force of will to become Henry Ford's heir apparent.^ The climactic struggle among these three very different men to control the vast and growing Ford empire was one of the most dramatic conflicts in the history of American business." "Complete with compelling portraits of important Ford competitors, executives, and family members, as well as a fascinating array of family and official company photos, Henry and Edsel is must reading for anyone interested in business, the auto industry, or the fascinating world of the early twentieth century."--Jacket.