Wheels for the World: Henry Ford, His Company, and a Century of Progress, 1903-2003 - Douglas Brinkley

Summer tiiiiime, and the driving is eeeeeeasy. Unless your car's brake lights decided they never want to turn off and drain your battery twice before you figured out what the heck was going on. And at one end at the end of your newspaper interview of 21-year-old Army sergeant Rudy Palma who just came back from Iraq, you have to go back in and knock on his family's mobile home door and ask if they can give you a "jump."

Um, where was I?

Oh, Harley Davidson and Ford are both 100 year old companies this year. There's even a Harley edition Ford truck. I'm sure there's a Ford edition Harley - four wheels, but only two work. badum.

Seriously, there's all kinds of guilt out there about cars. Henry Ford is the personification of evil for some, dubbed the mass production king or bastard depending on who you're asking.

But cars can be appreciated. And this book in it's - gulp - 858 pages attempts to spread the love for the Mustang, the Thunderbird and any other great Ford car that I can't think of because I've never been a great cars person.


Publisher's Weekly - Henry Ford

Two other histories of Ford are slated for publication this year; four were published last year. Brinkley, a University of New Orleans history professor, distinguishes his as the only "single volume business and social history of Ford Motor from 1903 to 2003." In fact, it's something different: a book about the people of Ford, including the Ford family, executives, workers, union organizers and others. Extensive new documentary materials tell Ford's story in the words of its people. Brinkley's focus never strays far from Ford plants in Highland Park, River Rouge and Willow Run, Mich., yet he reflects events taking place in the outside world through the actions and feelings of people in nearby Dearborn, Mich.

Continued on the next page Page 1 — Page 2

Article tags

Spread the word
Bookmark and Share
Profile image for temple-stark

Article Author: Temple Stark

A graphic designing wordsmith, with a decade-plus career in community journalism behind me. Take a mean photo, have a new camera, and have been riding the wave of Twitter for more than a year.

Visit Temple Stark's author pageTemple Stark's Blog

Read comments on this article, and add some feedback of your own

Article comments

  • 1 - Richard Frees

    Nov 20, 2003 at 2:04 pm

    I gotta say, I am very impressed with the new Ford Mustang, Ford Explorer, and the Ford Focus. On the page I linked above, it lists the truck price which is fair, and some links to good reviews of the mean trucks. These trucks are really tough, and their SUVs are great too. I think Ford leads the SUV and truck market.

Add your comment, speak your mind

Personal attacks are NOT allowed.
Please read our comment policy.
Please preview your comment.

blogcritics lists for Dec 01, 2009

fresh articles Most recent articles site-wide

fresh comments Most recent comments site-wide

most comments Most comments in 24hrs

top writers Most prolific Blogcritics for October

top commenters Most prolific Commenters in 24 hrs