Ford Men
What is more important in business: strategy or luck? Ford Men answers this question by telling the story of Ford Motor Company, one of the most successful American businesses made up of one of America's most enduring business families. There are three distinct periods and Ford personalities in this epic story: the founder Henry Ford, his grandson Henry Ford II, and great grandson William Clay Ford. Each of these periods includes many other important people and events that tell the story of how this inspiration became a global enterprise. The episodes, personalities and surprising turns of fate combine into one of the great business stories in U.S. history.
"A great American story skillfully unwound by a capable, insightful, and creditable analyst."
— Kevin Tynan, Global Director, Automotive Research, Bloomberg Intelligence
"Chris Whalen offers profound new perspectives on the men (and women) behind Ford Motor Company. Chris explains why no auto manufacturer survives without (1) creativity to dream great products, (2) financial and engineering genius to produce millions of large, complex, enduring machines that fulfill the dreams at affordable prices and (3) luck to bypass or overcome the inevitability of human frailty in a workforce numbering more than 100,000 people. Through the eyes of Ford Men, Chris presents the path to Ford's success and challenges it survived along the way."
— Frederick Feldkamp, Partner, Foley & Lardner and author of Financial Stability: Fraud, Confidence and the Wealth of Nations
One of America's best financial writers has a new book on one of America's richest families, and the results are as electrifying as your first ride in a Ford Mustang ragtop. Ford Men: From Inspiration to Enterprise, by Chris Whalen picks up where other Ford histories leave off and update a legendary story with new insights for the twenty-first century. Many books have been written on Henry Ford the family patriarch and founder of the Ford Motor Company. Many other books have been written on the automotive industry. But, never has a book so comprehensively integrated the evolution of the company, and the personalities of the men (and women) who ran it as Whalen's monumental work. While covering some familiar ground, Whalen also breaks new ground with his meticulous research and access to new sources. Even familiar episodes come to life in Whalen's vivid writing. Most importantly, Whalen updates this century-old story at a time when Ford Motor is facing its most daunting financial and competitive challenges yet. If you're wondering whether Ford Motor Company and the family's control will survive another hundred years, this is the place to find out.
— James Rickards, author of the New York Times bestseller The Road to Ruin.