The People’s Tycoon: Henry Ford and the American Century

Description

He put America on wheels — and came to embody the American century, for better and for worse. How did a Michigan farm boy become the richest man in America and remake the twentieth century? In The People’s Tycoon, historian Steven Watts uncovers the man behind the myth of Henry Ford, situating his achievements and controversies firmly within the story of modern America.

Ford didn’t just build cars; he built the modern world. The moving assembly line, the Model T, and the revolutionary five-dollar workday transformed industry, labor, and everyday life — putting America on wheels and inventing mass consumer culture along the way.

Yet Watts never flinches from the darker chapters: the iron-fisted control of workers, the virulent antisemitism, the stubborn resistance to change that nearly destroyed his own company. Sweeping, insightful, and compulsively readable, this balanced portrait of a genius who was also deeply flawed is essential for history buffs, business readers, and anyone who wants to understand how one man came to define an age.

How did a Michigan farm boy become the richest man in America — and remake the twentieth century in the process? In The People’s Tycoon, historian Steven Watts uncovers the man behind the myth of Henry Ford, situating his achievements and their attendant controversies firmly within the story of modern America.

Ford didn’t just build cars; he built the modern world. The moving assembly line, the Model T, and the revolutionary five-dollar workday transformed industry, labor, and everyday life — putting America on wheels and inventing mass consumer culture along the way.

Yet Watts never flinches from the darker chapters: the iron-fisted control of workers, the virulent antisemitism, the stubborn resistance to change that nearly destroyed his own company. This is a balanced, deeply researched portrait of a genius who was also deeply flawed — a man whose innovations liberated millions and whose prejudices scarred a nation.

Sweeping, insightful, and compulsively readable, The People’s Tycoon is essential reading for history buffs, business readers, and anyone who wants to understand how one man came to embody the American century — for better and for worse.