I invented the modern age : the rise of Henry Ford / Richard Snow.
"From an acclaimed popular historian comes a fresh, meticulous, and entertaining account of Henry Ford and his invention of the Model-T--the machine that defined the dawning age in America. Every century or so, our republic has been changed by a new technology: 170 years ago it was the railroad; today it's the microprocessor. But in the early twentieth century it was the gasoline-combustion engine, built by a young, unknown, industrious man named Henry Ford. Born into a steam-powered world, the young farm boy saw the advantages of internal combustion; using his innate mechanical abilities, hard work, and imagination he transformed our nation's industry and went on to become an American icon. In many ways, his story is well known; in just as many other ways, it is not. Richard Snow weaves together a fascinating narrative of Ford's rise to fame--as well as his creative personality and spirit--through his greatest invention, the Model T. The car transformed our nation in a decade, and made Ford a national hero. But then Ford soured, and the benevolent side of his character went into an ever-deepening eclipse, even as the cultural change he initiated remade America. Snow, who "writes with verve and a keen eye" (The New York Times Book Review) has written a highly pleasurable read, and shows us the remarkable man who invented the modern age"-- Provided by publisher.
Record details
- ISBN: 9781451645576
- ISBN: 1451645570
- Physical Description: xv, 364 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations ; 24 cm
- Edition: 1st Scribner hardcover edition
- Publisher: New York : Scribner, 2013.
Content descriptions
- Bibliography, etc. Note:
- Includes bibliographical references (pages 341-346) and index.
- Formatted Contents Note:
- Chapter 1 A Homecoming 1 -- Saving the farm, then saving the entire past; between the steam engine and the Apple; "nobody knew anything about can"; Fordism. -- Chapter 2 "My Toys Were All Tools" 11 -- Boy who hated farming; McGuffey's "new green world"; steam and clockwork; a house without a mainspring "the biggest event in those early years"; into Detroit. -- Chapter 3 Clara 23 -- "He's a thinking, serious person"; winning a dead man's job; electricity; a baby and a seventh home; the Christmas Eve engine. -- Chapter 4 Working from the Ground Up 39 -- Making a car in a world without any; "a colorless, limpid, innocent-appearing liquid"; the Bagley Avenue woodshed; Americas first car race; Henry Ford's first car. -- Chapter 5 What Edison Said 61 -- Ford's first sale; "There's it young fellow who has made a gas car"; Ford's first company; a winter drive with "civilizations latest lisp"; dissolution: "Henry wasn't ready. -- Chapter 6 "Glory and Dust" 81 -- "We had to race"; Smiling Billy's Worlds Championship Sweepstakes; Ford vs. Winton: "A thin man can run faster than a fat one"; the Henry Ford Company; "The materialization of a nightmare." -- Chapter 7 Seven-Million-Dollar Letter 101 -- Malcomson's gamble; from a toy printing press; the Dodge brothers; the Ford Motor Company; "This business cannot last"; the (first) Model A; "BOSS OF THE ROAD." -- Chapter 8 Ford Finds His Greatest Asset 121 -- "Who in hell are you?"; Couzens bosses the boss; the cars get shipped; the importance of dealers; an earthquake proves the Model A; parasites; who was Malcomson? -- Chapter 9 Inventing the Universal Car 141 -- Who wanted it?; Sorensen's locked room; steering wheel on the left-forever; new experts, new engine, new steel, new car; "Without doubt the greatest creation in automobiles ever placed before a people." -- Chapter 10 Man Who Owned Every Car in America 153 -- Selden files a patent on all gas-powered automobiles and sues their makers; the court finds for him; most carmakers give in; Ford won't pay "graft money"; a second trial; "One of the greatest things Mr. Ford did..." -- Chapter 11 Model T Takes Over 171 -- New York to Seattle on thin ice; learning to drive the Model T; birth of a dealer, the farmer and the car; caring for your Model T; the perils of starting it; "Funny Stories About the Ford"; five thousand accessories; remaking the nation in a decade: "I'll go without food before I'll go without my car. " -- Chapter 12 Terrible Efficiency 197 -- Crystal Palace; taking the work to the worker; speeding up; the twentieth century's only industrial revolution; the workers hate it. -- Chapter 13 Five-Dollar Day 211 -- Couzens and his conscience; "It's a good round number"; Ford bids against himself, "every worker a potential customer"; Ford at his zenith. -- Chapter 14 Simple Purposes 231 -- Telling workers how to live; ugly enough to be a minister; war; Ford on the American soldier; "Lazy, crazy, or just out of a job"; Couzens quits; "GREAT WAR TO END CHRISTMAS DAY; FORD TO STOP IT"; from "peace angel to Vulcan." -- Chapter 15 Expert 253 -- Rouge rises; the Dodge brothers sue; "we don't seem to be able to keep the profits down "; sandbagging the shareholders; probing Ford's ignorance in court: "Did you ever hear of Benedict Arnold?" -- Chapter 16 International Jew 269 -- Problems of civilization traced to their source; the Dearborn Independent; Lieboid; "LET'S HAVE SOME SENSATIONALISM"; "Jewish Degradation of American Baseball"; two U.S. presidents ask Ford to stop Ins campaign; he carries it on for ninety-one issues of the Independent; Ford apologizes, saying he had no idea what was in his newspaper. -- Chapter 17 End of the Line 283 -- Edsel; his powerless power in the company; Evangeline Dahlinger and her houses and horses; the "executive scrap heap"; how to join it: suggest changing the Model T; sales dwindle; Edsel fights; the last Model T; what the car had done..
Search for related items by subject
Available copies
- 16 of 16 copies available at NC Cardinal. (Show)
- 1 of 1 copy available at McDowell County Public Library.
Holds
- 0 current holds with 16 total copies.
Show Only Available Copies
| Location | Call Number / Copy Notes | Barcode | Shelving Location | Status | Due Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marion Library | BIO FOR (Text) | 37810435135370 | Adult Biography | Available | - |
