Wheels for the World Henry Ford His Company & a Century of Progress

In this monumental work, one of our finest historians reveals the riveting details of Ford Motor Company’s epic achievements, from the outlandish success of the Model T and V-8 to the glory days of the Thunderbird, Mustang, and Taurus. Brilliant innovators, colorful businessmen, and clever eccentrics, as well as the three Ford factories themselves, all become characters in this gripping drama. Douglas Brinkley is a master at crafting compelling historical narratives, and this exemplary history of one of the preeminent American corporations is his finest achievement yet.

"[A] comprehensive and highly readable...first rate corporate history." —The New York Times

Introduction

Part One: The Farm Boy

1. Origins

2. Starting Up

3. Founding Ford

4. Growing Successes

5. Growing Pains

6. Model T Mania

7. Fordism

8. The $5 Day

Part Two: The Forward March

9. Alone at the Top

10. Making an Impact

11. Challenging Every Foe

12. Withstanding the Downturn

13. The Rouge

14. Lincoln Motor

15. Ford Aviation

Part Three: The Battle Joined

16. Good-bye, Model T; Hello, Model A

17. Model A and Trade Abroad

18. Coping with the Great Depression

19. Model Y: The Ford Americans Never Knew

20. For Better and For Worse in Dearborn

21. Mercury

22. Building Up to War

23. Willow Run and the B-24 Liberators

Part Four: The Modern Corporation

24. Peaceful Revolution

25. Death in Dearborn

26. Human Engineering

27. Fifty Years Old and Still Growing Up

28. Grand Thunderbirds, Tough Trucks, and the Edsel Flop

29. A Whole New Business

30. Mustang Generation

Part Five: The Turnaround Years

31. Jet Set

32. Trouble All Around

33. Financial Crisis

34. The Quality Crisis

35. Team Taurus

36. New Horses

37. Momentum

Epilogue

Acknowledgments

Notes

Selected Bibliography

Index