Synopses & Reviews
andlt;Bandgt;From the acclaimed popular historian Richard Snow, who and#8220;writes with verve and a keen eyeand#8221; (andlt;Iandgt;The New York Times Book Reviewandlt;/Iandgt;), comes a fresh and entertaining account of Henry Ford and his invention of the Model Tand#8212;the ugly, cranky, invincible machine that defined twentieth-century America.andlt;/Bandgt; andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Every century or so, our republic has been remade by a new technology: 170 years ago the railroad changed Americansand#8217; conception of space and time; in our era, the microprocessor revolutionized how humans communicate. But in the early twentieth century the agent of creative destruction was the gasoline engine, as put to work by an unknown and relentlessly industrious young man named Henry Ford. Born the same year as the battle of Gettysburg, Ford died two years after the atomic bombs fell, and his life personified the tremendous technological changes achieved in that span. andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Growing up as a Michigan farm boy with a bone-deep loathing of farming, Ford intuitively saw the advantages of internal combustion. Resourceful and fearless, he built his first gasoline engine out of scavenged industrial scraps. It was the size of a sewing machine. From there, scene by scene, Richard Snow vividly shows Ford using his innate mechanical abilities, hard work, and radical imagination as he transformed American industry. andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;In many ways, of course, Fordand#8217;s story is well known; in many more ways, it is not. Richard Snow masterfully weaves together a fascinating narrative of Fordand#8217;s rise to fame through his greatest invention, the Model T. When Ford first unveiled this car, it took twelve and a half hours to build one. A little more than a decade later, it took exactly one minute. In making his car so quickly and so cheaply that his own workers could easily afford it, Ford created the cycle of consumerism that we still inhabit. Our country changed in a mere decade, and Ford became a national hero. But then he soured, and the benevolent side of his character went into an ever-deepening eclipse, even as the America he had remade evolved beyond all imagining into a global power capable of producing on a vast scale not only cars, but airplanes, ships, machinery, and an infinity of household devices. andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;A highly pleasurable read, filled with scenes and incidents from Fordand#8217;s life, particularly during the intense phase of his secretive competition with other early car manufacturers, andlt;Iandgt;I Invented the Modern Age andlt;/Iandgt;shows Richard Snow at the height of his powers as a popular historian and reclaims from history Henry Ford, the remarkable man who, indeed, invented the modern world as we know it.
Review
and#8220;andlt;iandgt;I Invented the Modern Age andlt;/iandgt;is the amazing story of an amazing man, told with wit, insight, style, and zest. Richard Snow makes the invention of the automobile intelligible and fascinating even to car ignoramuses such as myself. His story of Ford theman is simply riveting. This is history as it should always be told.and#8221;
Review
Snow and#8220;gets to the meat of a biographerand#8217;s taskand#8212; demonstrating how psychology and circumstances blend to create a lifeand#8230; Snowand#8217;s supple and informative effort reminds us that although weand#8217;ve bought the automobiles and the assembly line, we continue to wrestle with the issues that concerned their creator.and#8221;
Review
and#8220;Richard Snowand#8217;s lively biography will make you rethink the man whose legacy sits in your garage.and#8221;
Review
"Richard Snow skilfully evokes everything from patenting battles to internal-combustion dramas and#8212; and his bullheaded subject, who set out to remake America, and succeeded."
Review
"Snow displays excellent storytelling skill as, stiffening by the years, Fordand#8217;sandlt;BRandgt; character develops through anecdotes and events in a lively narrative sequence that will engross readers."
Review
"The 'T' itself is a protagonist in Mr. Snow's often lyrical book."
Review
and#8220;Stylistically, Snow mimics the marvelously folksy, protean temperament of his subject, dwelling on Fordand#8217;s early mechanical inventions rather than his latter problematic prickliness, and everywhere portraying a compelling character.and#8221;
Review
andlt;divandgt;"Highly readable."andlt;/divandgt;
Review
"Richard Snow presents a biography of a brilliant, difficult and strange man, a technological thriller about the most important machine he made, and a social history of the country it transformed. You live in the world Henry Ford made; here is how it happened. andlt;iandgt;I Invented the Modern Ageandlt;/iandgt; is clear, amusing, stern and poignant."
Review
"No one has told the story of Henry Fordand#8217;s incredible rise and achievements better than Richard Snow in this book."
Review
and#8220;Highly readable.and#8221;
Synopsis
A fresh, meticulous, and entertaining account of Henry Ford, the Model-T, and the invention of the American car industry in the early twentieth century that "will make you rethink the man whose legacy sits in your garage" (Parade).
From the acclaimed popular historian Richard Snow, who "writes with verve and a keen eye" (The New York Times Book Review), comes a fresh and entertaining account of Henry Ford and his invention of the Model T--the ugly, cranky, invincible machine that defined twentieth-century America.
Every century or so, our republic has been remade by a new technology: 170 years ago the railroad changed Americans' conception of space and time; in our era, the microprocessor revolutionized how humans communicate. But in the early twentieth century the agent of creative destruction was the gasoline engine, as put to work by an unknown and relentlessly industrious young man named Henry Ford. Born the same year as the battle of Gettysburg, Ford died two years after the atomic bombs fell, and his life personified the tremendous technological changes achieved in that span.
Growing up as a Michigan farm boy with a bone-deep loathing of farming, Ford intuitively saw the advantages of internal combustion. Resourceful and fearless, he built his first gasoline engine out of scavenged industrial scraps. It was the size of a sewing machine. From there, scene by scene, Richard Snow vividly shows Ford using his innate mechanical abilities, hard work, and radical imagination as he transformed American industry.
In many ways, of course, Ford's story is well known; in many more ways, it is not. Richard Snow masterfully weaves together a fascinating narrative of Ford's rise to fame through his greatest invention, the Model T. When Ford first unveiled this car, it took twelve and a half hours to build one. A little more than a decade later, it took exactly one minute. In making his car so quickly and so cheaply that his own workers could easily afford it, Ford created the cycle of consumerism that we still inhabit. Our country changed in a mere decade, and Ford became a national hero. But then he soured, and the benevolent side of his character went into an ever-deepening eclipse, even as the America he had remade evolved beyond all imagining into a global power capable of producing on a vast scale not only cars, but airplanes, ships, machinery, and an infinity of household devices.
A highly pleasurable read, filled with scenes and incidents from Ford's life, particularly during the intense phase of his secretive competition with other early car manufacturers, I Invented the Modern Age shows Richard Snow at the height of his powers as a popular historian and reclaims from history Henry Ford, the remarkable man who, indeed, invented the modern world as we know it.
About the Author
Richard Snowandlt;Bandgt; andlt;/Bandgt;was born in New York City and he graduated with a B.A. from Columbia College in 1970. He worked at andlt;iandgt;American Heritage andlt;/iandgt;magazine for nearly four decades and was its editor-in-chief for seventeen years. He is the author of several books, among them two novels and a volume of poetry. Snow has served as a consultant for historical motion pictureand#8212;among them andlt;iandgt;Gloryand#8212;andlt;/iandgt;and has written for documentaries, including the Burns brothersand#8217; andlt;iandgt;Civil Warandlt;/iandgt;, and Ric Burnsand#8217;s award-winning PBS film andlt;iandgt;Coney Islandandlt;/iandgt;, whose screenplay he wrote. Most recently, he served as a consultant on Ken Burnsand#8217;s World War II series, andlt;iandgt;The Warandlt;/iandgt;.