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The Cardigan Series #4
The Reckoning
New York Times Bestseller: “A historical overview of the auto industry in the United States and Japan [and] the gradual decline of U.S. manufacturing” (Library Journal).
After generations of creating high-quality automotive products, American industrialists began losing ground to the Japanese auto industry in the decades after World War II.
David Halberstam, with his signature precision and absorbing narrative style, traces this power shift by delving into the boardrooms and onto the factory floors of the America’s Ford Motor Company and Japan’s Nissan. Different in every way—from their reactions to labor problems to their philosophies and leadership styles—the two companies stand as singular testaments to the challenges brought by the rise of the global economy.
From the Pulitzer Prize–winning author of The Fifties and The Coldest Winter, and filled with intriguing vignettes about Henry Ford, Lee Iacocca, and other visionary industrial leaders, The Reckoning remains a powerful and enlightening story about manufacturing in the modern age, and how America fell woefully behind.
After generations of creating high-quality automotive products, American industrialists began losing ground to the Japanese auto industry in the decades after World War II.
David Halberstam, with his signature precision and absorbing narrative style, traces this power shift by delving into the boardrooms and onto the factory floors of the America’s Ford Motor Company and Japan’s Nissan. Different in every way—from their reactions to labor problems to their philosophies and leadership styles—the two companies stand as singular testaments to the challenges brought by the rise of the global economy.
From the Pulitzer Prize–winning author of The Fifties and The Coldest Winter, and filled with intriguing vignettes about Henry Ford, Lee Iacocca, and other visionary industrial leaders, The Reckoning remains a powerful and enlightening story about manufacturing in the modern age, and how America fell woefully behind.
752 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1905
1348 people are currently reading
2653 people want to read
About the author
David Halberstam
98 books866 followersDavid Halberstam was an American journalist and historian, known for his work on the Vietnam War, politics, history, the Civil Rights Movement, business, media, American culture, and later, sports journalism. He was awarded a Pulitzer Prize for International Reporting in 1964.
Halberstam graduated from Harvard University with a degree in journalism in 1955 and started his career writing for the Daily Times Leader in West Point, Mississippi. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, writing for The Tennessean in Nashville, Tennessee, he covered the beginnings of the American Civil Rights Movement.
In the mid 1960s, Halberstam covered the Vietnam War for The New York Times. While there, he gathered material for his book The Making of a Quagmire: America and Vietnam during the Kennedy Era. In 1963, he received a George Polk Award for his reporting at the New York Times. At the age of 30, he won a Pulitzer Prize for his reporting on the war. He is interviewed in the 1968 documentary film on the Vietnam War entitled In the Year of the Pig.
Halberstam's most well known work is The Best and the Brightest. Halberstam focused on the paradox that those who shaped the U.S. war effort in Vietnam were some of the most intelligent, well-connected and self-confident men in America—"the best and the brightest"—and yet those same individuals were responsible for the failure of the United States Vientnam policy.
After publication of The Best and the Brightest in 1972, Halberstam plunged right into another book and in 1979 published The Powers That Be. The book provided profiles of men like William Paley of CBS, Henry Luce of Time magazine, Phil Graham of The Washington Post—and many others.
Later in his career, Halberstam turned to the subjects of sports, publishing The Breaks of the Game, an inside look at the Bill Walton and the 1978 Portland Trailblazers basketball team; an ambitious book on Michael Jordan in 1999 called Playing for Keeps; and on the pennant race battle between the Yankees and Red Sox called Summer of '49.
Halberstam published two books in the 1960s, three books in the 1970s, four books in the 1980s, and six books in the 1990s. He published four books in the 2000s and was on a pace to publish six or more books in that decade before his death.
David Halberstam was killed in a car crash on April 23, 2007 in Menlo Park, California.
Halberstam graduated from Harvard University with a degree in journalism in 1955 and started his career writing for the Daily Times Leader in West Point, Mississippi. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, writing for The Tennessean in Nashville, Tennessee, he covered the beginnings of the American Civil Rights Movement.
In the mid 1960s, Halberstam covered the Vietnam War for The New York Times. While there, he gathered material for his book The Making of a Quagmire: America and Vietnam during the Kennedy Era. In 1963, he received a George Polk Award for his reporting at the New York Times. At the age of 30, he won a Pulitzer Prize for his reporting on the war. He is interviewed in the 1968 documentary film on the Vietnam War entitled In the Year of the Pig.
Halberstam's most well known work is The Best and the Brightest. Halberstam focused on the paradox that those who shaped the U.S. war effort in Vietnam were some of the most intelligent, well-connected and self-confident men in America—"the best and the brightest"—and yet those same individuals were responsible for the failure of the United States Vientnam policy.
After publication of The Best and the Brightest in 1972, Halberstam plunged right into another book and in 1979 published The Powers That Be. The book provided profiles of men like William Paley of CBS, Henry Luce of Time magazine, Phil Graham of The Washington Post—and many others.
Later in his career, Halberstam turned to the subjects of sports, publishing The Breaks of the Game, an inside look at the Bill Walton and the 1978 Portland Trailblazers basketball team; an ambitious book on Michael Jordan in 1999 called Playing for Keeps; and on the pennant race battle between the Yankees and Red Sox called Summer of '49.
Halberstam published two books in the 1960s, three books in the 1970s, four books in the 1980s, and six books in the 1990s. He published four books in the 2000s and was on a pace to publish six or more books in that decade before his death.
David Halberstam was killed in a car crash on April 23, 2007 in Menlo Park, California.
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September 3, 2016
The other day I was speaking to a local politician near Los Angeles who said that he once went to Detroit to meet with the then-president of GM, Roger Smith.
He and another councilman were trying to get Smith to sell/exchange land that GM owned in their town and where the company had a factory it had just closed. They talked about a lot of things, but in the middle of the conversation, Smith said, “We’re not in the business of making cars; we’re in the business of making money.”
It hit me then, as I’d just finished David Halberstam’s The Reckoning, that in those two sentences Roger Smith encapsulated why America’s auto industry corroded as the Japanese, prostrate a few decades before, rose to excellence.
This book is one magnificent piece of journalism, which the great Halberstam took five years to finish, including a time living in Japan. My understanding is that he thought of it as part of a trilogy about American power -- his take on industry alongside The Best and the Brightest (politics), and The Powers That Be (media).
The Reckoning is about Ford, not GM, and about Nissan – but the lesson is the same. When a company (or a country) turns itself over to the “finance guys” – as we have done with our country – then bad things are ahead. Because finance guys, with all their nice ties, don't make anything. They're agnostic about a company's place in a town, region or a state. They deal in widgets when they're really dealing in lives, schools, businesses. They have no idea how innovation happens - with incessant tinkering on a product. And they balk at anything that actually costs money.
“Finance” – is there any worse word in the history of American manufacturing? The finance guys came to run Detroit, making money and not cars. At Ford they began with Robert McNamara (later Johnson’s Defense Secretary during Vietnam), who may go down in the history of the 20th Century as the smartest guy to do the most appallingly stupid things, at the greatest cost to most working people. I knew about his role in Vietnam. I didn't know about Ford.
But, of course, at Ford the real problem were the princes of the Ford family, and the sprawling culture of wealth and entitlement into which they were born and lived. Henry Ford II – a man so used to his wealth that he was terrified of having to actually work for a living that he entrusted the company to the finance guys believing they would preserve the stock value, which they did until they couldn't do it any more. First McNamara then a guy named Ed Lundy. The result was catastrophic for the company, a town, and workers.
Unions played a major part in their own demise, of course, never quite imagining global competition and thus demanding more benefits and wages at every turn – which the companies were happy to give as long as Americans kept buying their increasingly mediocre cars. Until the Japanese came.
But The Reckoning details all the ways Ford’s finance guys staunched American manufacturing innovation and brilliance. They held back on renovation of factories, impeded new lines of cars. Car guys had to constantly battle finance guys for the most obvious improvements. Ford had terrific technology before any other competitor that would allow it to make all its cars rust-free, known as E-coating, but it took 15 years for the finance folks to actually go along with equipping all Ford factories in the US with it. By then the company was way behind.
In the end, The Reckoning is really about human nature – how those from the bottom work hard, postpone gratification, think always of tomorrow while those at the top become fat. There’s a lot in between, but that seems to be the overarching idea.
He and another councilman were trying to get Smith to sell/exchange land that GM owned in their town and where the company had a factory it had just closed. They talked about a lot of things, but in the middle of the conversation, Smith said, “We’re not in the business of making cars; we’re in the business of making money.”
It hit me then, as I’d just finished David Halberstam’s The Reckoning, that in those two sentences Roger Smith encapsulated why America’s auto industry corroded as the Japanese, prostrate a few decades before, rose to excellence.
This book is one magnificent piece of journalism, which the great Halberstam took five years to finish, including a time living in Japan. My understanding is that he thought of it as part of a trilogy about American power -- his take on industry alongside The Best and the Brightest (politics), and The Powers That Be (media).
The Reckoning is about Ford, not GM, and about Nissan – but the lesson is the same. When a company (or a country) turns itself over to the “finance guys” – as we have done with our country – then bad things are ahead. Because finance guys, with all their nice ties, don't make anything. They're agnostic about a company's place in a town, region or a state. They deal in widgets when they're really dealing in lives, schools, businesses. They have no idea how innovation happens - with incessant tinkering on a product. And they balk at anything that actually costs money.
“Finance” – is there any worse word in the history of American manufacturing? The finance guys came to run Detroit, making money and not cars. At Ford they began with Robert McNamara (later Johnson’s Defense Secretary during Vietnam), who may go down in the history of the 20th Century as the smartest guy to do the most appallingly stupid things, at the greatest cost to most working people. I knew about his role in Vietnam. I didn't know about Ford.
But, of course, at Ford the real problem were the princes of the Ford family, and the sprawling culture of wealth and entitlement into which they were born and lived. Henry Ford II – a man so used to his wealth that he was terrified of having to actually work for a living that he entrusted the company to the finance guys believing they would preserve the stock value, which they did until they couldn't do it any more. First McNamara then a guy named Ed Lundy. The result was catastrophic for the company, a town, and workers.
Unions played a major part in their own demise, of course, never quite imagining global competition and thus demanding more benefits and wages at every turn – which the companies were happy to give as long as Americans kept buying their increasingly mediocre cars. Until the Japanese came.
But The Reckoning details all the ways Ford’s finance guys staunched American manufacturing innovation and brilliance. They held back on renovation of factories, impeded new lines of cars. Car guys had to constantly battle finance guys for the most obvious improvements. Ford had terrific technology before any other competitor that would allow it to make all its cars rust-free, known as E-coating, but it took 15 years for the finance folks to actually go along with equipping all Ford factories in the US with it. By then the company was way behind.
In the end, The Reckoning is really about human nature – how those from the bottom work hard, postpone gratification, think always of tomorrow while those at the top become fat. There’s a lot in between, but that seems to be the overarching idea.
September 14, 2009
In the 1980s, my father, like many working people around the country, underwent a painful divorce...from the US car industry. As a Uniroyal employee, he would fly to Detroit every 8 to 10 years and drive home with an almost-new American car bought at supplier rates. In the early 1970s, the Ford Falcon was replaced with a GM station wagon and a "small" (straight 6!) used AMC Hornet was bought as a second car. During the oil crises, the attempts at more fuel-efficient cars brought him home in a Plymouth Horizon. All these cars suffered from steep depreciation...not just value, but performance. But it was a Ford Escort--whose engine block simply cracked while driving down I-95--that finally caused the divorce.
Hell hath no fury like a scorned loyal American car buyer.
My father drove to work one day not long after The Escort Incident in a slightly used Honda Accord and never went back. For a WWII vet--even one who had done business in Japan throughout the '60s and '70s--the fact that Americans could not build cars as well as the Japanese was a bitter pill to swallow. But my father was a scientist and, in the end, the proof of the counterfactual won out. It was a defining change of perspective for my family forcing us all to reconsider some of our bedrock assumptions about the inevitability of American industrial dominance, the work ethic and even cultural value of other societies. I have a sense, after reading "The Reckoning," that our family's experience is hardly unique. Millions of American families made similarly difficult choices and, in order to protect what was typically the household's second largest investment (after the house), switched away from American cars.
Halberstam explains how and why this happened in his riveting dual-history of the US and Japanese auto industries. The book was controversial and, to some, sacreligious when it came out in the mid-1980s. Now, in the face of a bankrupt and bailed out Detroit, it seems prophetic. The writing is occasionally repetitive and the book might have been helped by a bit more rigorous treatment of the principles of competition and oligopolistic behavior, but it breathes life into the industry and explains, through personalities (the Fords, in particular), cultures and industrial policies, how Detroit fumbled, lost its way and, eventually, turned over its leadership of America's most important industry. As an American, it is painful to read in some ways, but it is also satisfying to know that my father was right: the US car industry had long stopped caring about the best interests of their consumers by the time he and Detroit had their divorce.
Hell hath no fury like a scorned loyal American car buyer.
My father drove to work one day not long after The Escort Incident in a slightly used Honda Accord and never went back. For a WWII vet--even one who had done business in Japan throughout the '60s and '70s--the fact that Americans could not build cars as well as the Japanese was a bitter pill to swallow. But my father was a scientist and, in the end, the proof of the counterfactual won out. It was a defining change of perspective for my family forcing us all to reconsider some of our bedrock assumptions about the inevitability of American industrial dominance, the work ethic and even cultural value of other societies. I have a sense, after reading "The Reckoning," that our family's experience is hardly unique. Millions of American families made similarly difficult choices and, in order to protect what was typically the household's second largest investment (after the house), switched away from American cars.
Halberstam explains how and why this happened in his riveting dual-history of the US and Japanese auto industries. The book was controversial and, to some, sacreligious when it came out in the mid-1980s. Now, in the face of a bankrupt and bailed out Detroit, it seems prophetic. The writing is occasionally repetitive and the book might have been helped by a bit more rigorous treatment of the principles of competition and oligopolistic behavior, but it breathes life into the industry and explains, through personalities (the Fords, in particular), cultures and industrial policies, how Detroit fumbled, lost its way and, eventually, turned over its leadership of America's most important industry. As an American, it is painful to read in some ways, but it is also satisfying to know that my father was right: the US car industry had long stopped caring about the best interests of their consumers by the time he and Detroit had their divorce.
December 4, 2011
I worried that because the Reckoning was published in 1986, that it would feel outdated. Far from it. Reading Halberstam's tome on the simultaneous rise of Japan's auto industry and the fall of America's gave me a snapshot of American's anxieties, real and imagined, of our decline with the rise of an Asian challenger.
Halberstam also avoids my usual pet peeves of histories written by both journalists and historians. Journalists are strong on thesis, but often abandon the ambiguities and complexities of the circumstances that give rise to historical trends in favor of sweeping generalities. By contrast, many renown historians choke stories with minutia to the extent that I forget the argument intended for the book.
The Reckoning deserves to be placed in the same category as Daniel Yergin's, The Prize. Like the Reckoning, the Prize paints a picture of the rise of an industry and the subsequent consequences for society through dozens of fascinating biopics of entrepreneurs and policy makers.
What I love most about this book is that it sparks many more questions that encourage me to seek out more books. I want to learn more about post-World War II Japanese society, the differences between Japan and China, and how the U.S. auto industry is now adapting to focus once again on quality in the new age of hyper global competition. At 728 pages, it is a schlog, which I'm diluting with Cronin's, The Passage, and Clavell's wonderful Shogun. However, reading The Reckoning is a happy march that is easy to pick up when I'm mentally well rested.
Halberstam also avoids my usual pet peeves of histories written by both journalists and historians. Journalists are strong on thesis, but often abandon the ambiguities and complexities of the circumstances that give rise to historical trends in favor of sweeping generalities. By contrast, many renown historians choke stories with minutia to the extent that I forget the argument intended for the book.
The Reckoning deserves to be placed in the same category as Daniel Yergin's, The Prize. Like the Reckoning, the Prize paints a picture of the rise of an industry and the subsequent consequences for society through dozens of fascinating biopics of entrepreneurs and policy makers.
What I love most about this book is that it sparks many more questions that encourage me to seek out more books. I want to learn more about post-World War II Japanese society, the differences between Japan and China, and how the U.S. auto industry is now adapting to focus once again on quality in the new age of hyper global competition. At 728 pages, it is a schlog, which I'm diluting with Cronin's, The Passage, and Clavell's wonderful Shogun. However, reading The Reckoning is a happy march that is easy to pick up when I'm mentally well rested.
September 17, 2019
Phenomenal! I loved the quote from a Chicago Tribune review on the cover: "A cautionary tale that makes us understand why we weep for America at the same time that we buy Japanese." The book was a fascinating, in-depth history of the car industry in the US and Japan. I think I highlighted 15% of the text. The auto giants gave us the oil culture (and accompanying pollution and climate change exacerbation), the current messy form of unethical capitalism, and a stock market system that encourages shoddy products. "It was no longer enough simply to make a good product and a solid profit; now more and more the object was to drive the stock up. The stock was the point of it all, not the product...The new American public to him was not the people who bought the car, the public was the people who bought the stock. Inevitably that preoccupation with the stock forced old-line companies to make short-range moves designed to make the present look good at the expense of the future." Excellent writing and illuminating history !
February 4, 2012
The Reckoning may be my favorite of David Halberstam's books. In my opinion, it and The Coldest Winter are more engaging and entertaining than The Best and the Brightest and The Powers That Be, which are the two books he's best known for.
The Reckoning is Halberstam's exhaustingly researched tome (we're talking 700+ pages here) about the auto industry in the late 1970s/early 1980s. More specifically, about the descent of the American auto industry and the rise of the Japanese auto industry. If you're familiar with Halberstam's other works, you won't be surprised by the attention to detail (as previous reviewers have pointed out, he really delved into the lives and psychology of the men he wrote about in this book) Nonetheless, I was still very impressed by the level of detail he managed to capture about the Japanese characters in this drama. Nor did he stop at the "high level" with corporate presidents, ministers of trade, and the like. He manages to tell the story from the perspective of the average Japanese auto worker by profiling one of Nissan's line workers. Some may find this much detail unnecessary and repetitive (as I did in The Best and the Brightest) but here I found it fascinating and lapped up every word.
In fact, although this book's focus is on Japan and America, there is a chapter toward the end that addresses the rise of the South Korean auto industry with the company Hyundai.
Halberstam wrote this book in 1986. Yet with a few minor tweaks--change a few names here, adjust a few million dollars to a few billion dollars--I could easily believe that he wrote it this year. Government bail-out money for the auto industry? American backlash against big, inefficient cars and the rising price of gas? Tension between the oil industry and Middle Eastern countries, specifically Iran?
Bottom line: This is a good book, a well-written book on an important and still-prescient topic, and I hope more people will read (or re-read it). With all the books being written about the auto industry, the conflict in the middle east, and the environment, The Reckoning remains current and relevant. I believe that's a testament to Halberstam's talent as a reporter and a writer.
ETA: I also agree with reviewers who pointed out that this book is predominantly about men. The only exception that I can think of is Maryann Kellers, a Wall Street analyst and expert on the auto industry--but her role in this book is minor.
The Reckoning is Halberstam's exhaustingly researched tome (we're talking 700+ pages here) about the auto industry in the late 1970s/early 1980s. More specifically, about the descent of the American auto industry and the rise of the Japanese auto industry. If you're familiar with Halberstam's other works, you won't be surprised by the attention to detail (as previous reviewers have pointed out, he really delved into the lives and psychology of the men he wrote about in this book) Nonetheless, I was still very impressed by the level of detail he managed to capture about the Japanese characters in this drama. Nor did he stop at the "high level" with corporate presidents, ministers of trade, and the like. He manages to tell the story from the perspective of the average Japanese auto worker by profiling one of Nissan's line workers. Some may find this much detail unnecessary and repetitive (as I did in The Best and the Brightest) but here I found it fascinating and lapped up every word.
In fact, although this book's focus is on Japan and America, there is a chapter toward the end that addresses the rise of the South Korean auto industry with the company Hyundai.
Halberstam wrote this book in 1986. Yet with a few minor tweaks--change a few names here, adjust a few million dollars to a few billion dollars--I could easily believe that he wrote it this year. Government bail-out money for the auto industry? American backlash against big, inefficient cars and the rising price of gas? Tension between the oil industry and Middle Eastern countries, specifically Iran?
Bottom line: This is a good book, a well-written book on an important and still-prescient topic, and I hope more people will read (or re-read it). With all the books being written about the auto industry, the conflict in the middle east, and the environment, The Reckoning remains current and relevant. I believe that's a testament to Halberstam's talent as a reporter and a writer.
ETA: I also agree with reviewers who pointed out that this book is predominantly about men. The only exception that I can think of is Maryann Kellers, a Wall Street analyst and expert on the auto industry--but her role in this book is minor.
September 26, 2019
In the author's note, David Halberstam recalls that he thought the book would take five years to write. Reading it, I wasn't surprised. There's lots of detail as he spins the tales of internecine struggles at Ford and Nissan. The origin stories of both companies are fascinating: Ford, the creation of a stubborn tinker whose principles (keep it simple, reinvest profits, build a car for every rural family) and product combined at exactly the right moment to bring almost unimaginable success, which he then spent the rest of his life undermining; Nissan, an unlikely survivor in the brutal competition of post-war Japanese industry, beneficiary also of a particular moment when self-sacrifice and reinvestment was richly rewarded. Halberstam also manages to weave the successes and travails of both companies in the broader context of Japan's ascent and America's relative decline. But really, there's a lot of corporate psychodrama. I found myself considering skipping some chapters.
September 14, 2022
What can I say — David Halberstam should PROBABLY have made this 500 pages instead of 750, but I still lapped it all up voraciously. His books are an art form: examination of an era via mini-biographies of 50+ people who were key decision-makers in that era.
A worthy criticism of his books is that they’re too “History of Great Men”, I.e. the books give far too much credit to the decisions made by the key individuals that he profiles, when in reality there are an infinite number of complex interactions that led to the downfall of the American auto industry and rise of Japan’s auto industry.
However, they’re just so damn interesting and engaging. You walk away feeling like you lived through that era and were in the boardrooms of Ford and Nissan. EXPERTLY-researched book.
Warning. This book DOES NOT pass the Bechdel test. Though, in fairness to Halberstam, the auto industry from the 40s to the 80s definitely didn’t pass the Bechdel test either 😅
A worthy criticism of his books is that they’re too “History of Great Men”, I.e. the books give far too much credit to the decisions made by the key individuals that he profiles, when in reality there are an infinite number of complex interactions that led to the downfall of the American auto industry and rise of Japan’s auto industry.
However, they’re just so damn interesting and engaging. You walk away feeling like you lived through that era and were in the boardrooms of Ford and Nissan. EXPERTLY-researched book.
Warning. This book DOES NOT pass the Bechdel test. Though, in fairness to Halberstam, the auto industry from the 40s to the 80s definitely didn’t pass the Bechdel test either 😅
July 23, 2020
Interesting look at the auto industry. The book is very old but is literally prescient in predicting the shortcomings of American capitalism.
November 27, 2015
I came across this book on a list published by the consulting firm McKinsey & Company of ten must-reads for executives involved in managing technology. The story of how the American automobile industry of forty years ago allowed itself to blindly ignore the competitive threat of quality imports from Japan, this book provides an excellent lesson about the nature of business that's still applicable today.
April 14, 2013
The reckoning takes up from where book 3 the fallen ends. Only from Chase's point of view. It is his search to find Sarah and when he does the events that take place are a little surprising. Also a new Character is introduced that I think the fans will like. Sarina is a force to be reckoned with. :)
February 9, 2020
This is a really good book, in spite of its 734 pages. Non-fiction, an in-depth look at the American auto industry from its early days to the mid-1980s as it weathered the storms of oil and gas price crises in the early 70s and again in the early 80s. Halberstam covers how the big American car giants took no heed of the early warnings to make smaller, more gas-efficient autos, warnings about the cars made in Japan and their popularity. America's long enjoyed affluence was about to experience some rough times.
Good chapters about Henry Ford and his genius for all things mechanical - a man perfect for the times, but in his old age was still stuck in those times, unable to move forward into the future.
I'm old enough to remember the large cars (black, of course) in the 40s, then the big American gas guzzlers, colorful and comfortable, and I clearly remember the gas lines in the 70s when we waited in long lines to fill our tanks. We were restricted to odd or even days, depending on our car license plate number. Then again in the 80s when the price of gas plummeted, smaller oil companies went out of business, and larger oil & gas companies laid off hundreds, then thousands of workers, trickling down to other businesses such as real estate. When you lose your job and no one is hiring say goodbye to the mortgage. No one to sell it to either.
Halberstam mentions throughout that the "economic utopia" that America thought it had reached in the 1950s could not last...thus "the culture of adversity" to come.
For non-fiction, it reads like a very interesting novel, with ongoing characters all moving along a timeline - a timeline of the invention and improvement of automobiles, comparing the "cars" development in Japan with Nisson and in the U.S. with Ford (both were the number two automakers in their respective countries). With the fall of the Shah of Iran and the OPEC oil embargoes in the late 79s and 1980s, all of the American industrial complex was vulnerable to industrious, disciplined Japan. The sudden rise in the price of oil caused shortages and panic in most of the world, especially those countries that were not oil producers, such as Japan. This caused those countries which manufactured cars to move toward smaller, more efficient cars. But not so much in the US where the big car mentality still reigned. It took many years and many mistakes for the Detroit auto industry to finally give in, but not until Japan, Korea, and Germany were making headway selling their cars (Toyota, Nissan, Honda, Hyundai, Volkswagon) in America. This did not happen overnight.
Only SOME of the blame goes to the manufacturing/design side though. The money people, the Finance people who had to approve the expenditure for better cars did not want to spend it. Being on the financial side, their natural tendency was to save the company money. So the two sides were constantly having internal struggles. and most of the time Finance won.
The US auto industry had to be dragged into the new century, finally providing good gas mileage, better-made cars that lasted longer than 3 or 4 years and service facilities for cars that needed some repair work, as well as warranties - none of which were provided until foreign car competition arrived. This book was published in 1986. Since then we have seen improvements in vehicle safety regulations that have saved lives. We have seen efforts at improving quality. We have seen some new cars that worked and some that didn't. There have been factory closings, permanent layoffs, families uprooted. Detroit is not the big automobile industry town it once was.
Competition is actually a good thing. It's what keeps things moving forward, getting better. Without it, you have nations like Russia, stagnant in many areas. Making cars was not something Japan planned to do. Trucks were what Japan made for their farmers and workers. Few people even had cars; most used public transportation. The author points out that, in the beginning, Nissan was very reluctant to try to sell their cars in America. They were only interested in staying within their own locale. It took several years and small steps before they felt confident to even try.
The big picture of the whole book is that between 1945 and 1975, Japan was pulling itself out of dire circumstances, having no food or resources to waste, having to rebuild and train workers. And between 1945 and 1975, America got too rich for its own good and squandered those riches, developed wasteful habits, and did not see what was coming.
Good chapters about Henry Ford and his genius for all things mechanical - a man perfect for the times, but in his old age was still stuck in those times, unable to move forward into the future.
I'm old enough to remember the large cars (black, of course) in the 40s, then the big American gas guzzlers, colorful and comfortable, and I clearly remember the gas lines in the 70s when we waited in long lines to fill our tanks. We were restricted to odd or even days, depending on our car license plate number. Then again in the 80s when the price of gas plummeted, smaller oil companies went out of business, and larger oil & gas companies laid off hundreds, then thousands of workers, trickling down to other businesses such as real estate. When you lose your job and no one is hiring say goodbye to the mortgage. No one to sell it to either.
Halberstam mentions throughout that the "economic utopia" that America thought it had reached in the 1950s could not last...thus "the culture of adversity" to come.
For non-fiction, it reads like a very interesting novel, with ongoing characters all moving along a timeline - a timeline of the invention and improvement of automobiles, comparing the "cars" development in Japan with Nisson and in the U.S. with Ford (both were the number two automakers in their respective countries). With the fall of the Shah of Iran and the OPEC oil embargoes in the late 79s and 1980s, all of the American industrial complex was vulnerable to industrious, disciplined Japan. The sudden rise in the price of oil caused shortages and panic in most of the world, especially those countries that were not oil producers, such as Japan. This caused those countries which manufactured cars to move toward smaller, more efficient cars. But not so much in the US where the big car mentality still reigned. It took many years and many mistakes for the Detroit auto industry to finally give in, but not until Japan, Korea, and Germany were making headway selling their cars (Toyota, Nissan, Honda, Hyundai, Volkswagon) in America. This did not happen overnight.
Only SOME of the blame goes to the manufacturing/design side though. The money people, the Finance people who had to approve the expenditure for better cars did not want to spend it. Being on the financial side, their natural tendency was to save the company money. So the two sides were constantly having internal struggles. and most of the time Finance won.
The US auto industry had to be dragged into the new century, finally providing good gas mileage, better-made cars that lasted longer than 3 or 4 years and service facilities for cars that needed some repair work, as well as warranties - none of which were provided until foreign car competition arrived. This book was published in 1986. Since then we have seen improvements in vehicle safety regulations that have saved lives. We have seen efforts at improving quality. We have seen some new cars that worked and some that didn't. There have been factory closings, permanent layoffs, families uprooted. Detroit is not the big automobile industry town it once was.
Competition is actually a good thing. It's what keeps things moving forward, getting better. Without it, you have nations like Russia, stagnant in many areas. Making cars was not something Japan planned to do. Trucks were what Japan made for their farmers and workers. Few people even had cars; most used public transportation. The author points out that, in the beginning, Nissan was very reluctant to try to sell their cars in America. They were only interested in staying within their own locale. It took several years and small steps before they felt confident to even try.
The big picture of the whole book is that between 1945 and 1975, Japan was pulling itself out of dire circumstances, having no food or resources to waste, having to rebuild and train workers. And between 1945 and 1975, America got too rich for its own good and squandered those riches, developed wasteful habits, and did not see what was coming.
July 9, 2017
After the Second World War it seemed that the American auto industry was unstoppable. With millions of dollars of disposable income, cheap gas and new roads being built every day, Americans paid a fortune for their cars, and the American auto industry became a titan. By the 1980s, this same industry was in trouble. The oil shocks, coupled with economic troubles, contributed to the demise of the industry. But the most difficult part of this situation for the American people was the fact that the Japanese auto industry, which was a ruin after the war, was beating the American industry at their own game. In "The Reckoning", David Halberstam discusses the entire scope of the auto industry, from it's beginnings in Henry Ford's Model T factories in the 1890s to the 1980s, when the war between Detroit and Tokyo was in full swing. Halberstam looks at all aspects of the industry, from gas prices to regulatory concerns to overseas marketing to quality management. It was interesting to read how both the American and Japanese auto industries became infatuated with numbers, but in the American industries the numbers described profits while in the Japanese industry the numbers described quality. Perhaps the best part of this book is the attention that Halberstam pays to the personality struggles between the various executives in Ford and Nissan, which are the two companies that Halberstam concentrates on.
My only regret in this book is that it became unfocused toward the end. While the personality conflicts were fascinating toward the beginning of the book, by the end the ferocity of them became distracting. Halberstam talked about regulatory protectionism, the oil crisis, the Korean auto industry and other issues toward the end that took his focus off the Japanese-US auto rivalry that made this book so fascinating.
Despite this minor flaw, I would say that this is one book that every business manager should read. Perhaps we can learn from the mistakes of the past and avoid making them in the future.
My only regret in this book is that it became unfocused toward the end. While the personality conflicts were fascinating toward the beginning of the book, by the end the ferocity of them became distracting. Halberstam talked about regulatory protectionism, the oil crisis, the Korean auto industry and other issues toward the end that took his focus off the Japanese-US auto rivalry that made this book so fascinating.
Despite this minor flaw, I would say that this is one book that every business manager should read. Perhaps we can learn from the mistakes of the past and avoid making them in the future.
October 14, 2017
Pozoruhodná kniha. Málokto sa asi vyberie do knihkupectva, že by si rád prečítal 800 strán paralelných dejín Fordu a Nissanu a ich odborových hnutí. Myšlienka je ukázať, ako vznikol americký automobilový priemysel a čo sa stalo, že postupne svoju nadvládu na americkom trhu stratil (Halberstamove vysvetlenie: ľudia vo Forde a GM od prepychu zleniveli a hlavne pustili k riadeniu finančníkov namiesto inžinierov).
Ako vysvetleniu celého nástupu Japonska a Kórei na svetové trhy by sa dalo knihe všeličo vyčítať, v neposlednom rade rozsah: v tejto knihe nikdy nestačí povedať jeden postreh a jednu historku, ale stále donekonečna sa musí vždy iným spôsobom opakovať to isté. Nekonečné desiatky strán sú venované vnútorným bojom o moc vo Forde a psychológii jeho manažérov.
Odbočky od hlavnej línie nie sú v štýle že povieme si, kto šéfoval odborom v Nissane v 50. rokoch, ale povieme si, kto im šéfoval, akí boli jeho rodičia a prarodičia a aké mali detstvo.
Na druhej strane, neuveriteľná rozkošatenosť príbehu je aj hlavnou silnou stránkou knihy - je tu úžasné množstvo odbočiek a historiek, ktoré nikde inde nenájdete, a vyrozprávaných tak, že sa tých 800 strán dá v podstate v pohode prečítať. (Moja obľúbená: Henry Ford tak nenávidel účtovníkov, že ešte dlhé roky po založení firmy sa ako nástroj finančného plánovania používala výška kopy nahromadených faktúr - účtovníci mali vypočítané, koľko v priemere firma dlží za jeden centimeter výšky naskladaných papierov). Vďaka tomu sa o Japonsku, japonskom priemysle a americkom priemysle dozviete nakoniec možno aj viac, ako z ľubovoľných piatich kníh o automobilovom manažmente.
Ako vysvetleniu celého nástupu Japonska a Kórei na svetové trhy by sa dalo knihe všeličo vyčítať, v neposlednom rade rozsah: v tejto knihe nikdy nestačí povedať jeden postreh a jednu historku, ale stále donekonečna sa musí vždy iným spôsobom opakovať to isté. Nekonečné desiatky strán sú venované vnútorným bojom o moc vo Forde a psychológii jeho manažérov.
Odbočky od hlavnej línie nie sú v štýle že povieme si, kto šéfoval odborom v Nissane v 50. rokoch, ale povieme si, kto im šéfoval, akí boli jeho rodičia a prarodičia a aké mali detstvo.
Na druhej strane, neuveriteľná rozkošatenosť príbehu je aj hlavnou silnou stránkou knihy - je tu úžasné množstvo odbočiek a historiek, ktoré nikde inde nenájdete, a vyrozprávaných tak, že sa tých 800 strán dá v podstate v pohode prečítať. (Moja obľúbená: Henry Ford tak nenávidel účtovníkov, že ešte dlhé roky po založení firmy sa ako nástroj finančného plánovania používala výška kopy nahromadených faktúr - účtovníci mali vypočítané, koľko v priemere firma dlží za jeden centimeter výšky naskladaných papierov). Vďaka tomu sa o Japonsku, japonskom priemysle a americkom priemysle dozviete nakoniec možno aj viac, ako z ľubovoľných piatich kníh o automobilovom manažmente.
June 4, 2014
This is what happens when an author knows his subject and writes whatever and as long as he wants. This book goes on and on and on — but I was delighted it did. Halberstam gallops through the roller coaster history of the auto industry with special emphasis on personalities and conflicts at Ford and, interestingly, Nissan. Fun inside stuff on the maniacal Henry Ford I, Edsel (the son he ruined), and the effective but harsh grandson, Henry II. Most interesting was how the Japanese emerged from the ashes of WWII and eventually beat we hubristic Yankees on our home field. Big personalities (and unusual cultural eccentricities) there in Asia, too. If you like stories about big, big business and the names Iaccoca, DeLorean, Ford, Knudsen, and cars like the Mustang, 240Z, Model A, and Fair Lady mean something to you then you’ll enjoy this longish (750pages) but engaging read. I was glad every time I picked it up that I still had more to go. Rating 3 of 5 carbs.
March 17, 2019
Very much an "End of the Roman Empire" kind of story, with the accompanying devastating results. The nuts and bolts of the crushing of the American automotive behemoth is all here Looking back in this way it all seems so obviously apparent that it feels mind bogglingly difficult to understand the complacency of Detroit. That feeling "What is will always be" runs heavily through a large portion of the book, but for anyone on the coasts during the middle 70's, the direction was quite clear. 1978, my first new vehicle, and after checking thoroughly quality reports, I bought a new Datsun truck. Drove it problem free for 10 years. Never owned an American car after that. Enough said!!! Great book- 5 Stars!
September 27, 2019
Why read a book about the auto industry written in 1986? David Halberstom is probably enough reason, but I found this completely relevant to 2019. As the USA lost its position and power in the manufacturing of autos in the 70s and 80s, so we are losing our position and world power today. We are stuck with an attitude that only money matters....not producing goods that improve the world, not working to make all Americans take part in the economy, and not admitting how diminished our country has become. The auto industry was corrupted by men who lacked vision, a sense of responsibility, and any sense of shame.
December 9, 2014
Having read and been impressed by Halberstam, I gave this title a chance. If it had been by another author I would have passed it by. A comparison of the post-war economies of Japan and the USA, focusing on Nissan and Ford Motor companies, his work was intended as a constructive critique. It just happens to be a great read, so good that it actually got me interested in the automotive industry.
Who knows? Maybe someday, if I read everything else by Halberstam, I'll pick up one of his books about--shudder!--American sports.
Who knows? Maybe someday, if I read everything else by Halberstam, I'll pick up one of his books about--shudder!--American sports.
November 6, 2019
The Reckoning is a sweeping drama of the rise and fall of nations and a history of the geopolitical maneuvers that underpinned the action. It's a series of biographies that offers a look beneath the polished exterior of the upper crust and elevates the dignity of the working class. It's a lesson in business and finance and human psychology and yes, cars.
If you enjoy the style of Chernow or Caro, with their ambitious subjects and protracted narratives, then I highly recommend giving Halberstam a go.
If you enjoy the style of Chernow or Caro, with their ambitious subjects and protracted narratives, then I highly recommend giving Halberstam a go.
August 9, 2019
In the mid-80’s, while I was a teenager, my parents bought their first Japanese car. In fact, I learned how to drive in it. Because I was impressed with its fuel economy and reliability, my first car was Japanese, as well, and it didn’t disappoint me. While I was in the Navy, I periodically had to chauffeur a roommate because his Chevy was in the shop for warranty work, something that never happened with my car. Right after I had returned from the First Gulf War, I found out from press statements made by the American car manufacturers and the United Auto Workers that my patriotism was suspect because my choice of a car didn’t line their pockets. I had a sudden urge to by an American-made car. Not! Rather, I was insulted by their arrogance. I still remember President George H.W. Bush meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Kiichi Miyazawa to persuade the Japanese to buy American cars. In this meeting, President Bush got sick and vomited on Prime Minister Miyazawa, prompting me to crack jokes like, “Buy our stuff. Do we have to send our president to throw up on your president?” Around this time, I had seen news report that executives at the American car manufacturers didn’t even know that the Japanese drove on the left side of the road and needed their steering wheels on the right side of their cars. Really? Did they even bother to research what their desired customers even wanted or needed?
In this book, published in 1986, Mr. Halberstam chronicles how the once mighty Big Three car makers in Detroit alienated much of their customer base and found themselves fighting for their lives in the face of Japanese competition. He selected Ford as the representative American car manufacturer because it was sufficiently small to be vulnerable to changing market conditions but also sufficiently healthy to not have its very survival threatened, unlike Chrysler. Because Ford was the number two car manufacturer in America, he chose Nissan, the number two car manufacturer in Japan, as the representative Japanese car manufacturer. Although Chrysler is not featured, it gets more attention than General Motors because of the feud between Lee Iacocca, President and later Chairman of Chrysler, and Henry Ford II, who had fired him from his position as President of Ford Motor Company (Iacocca considered turning around Chrysler as an act of revenge against Henry Ford II.).
Because of Henry Ford’s over-emphasis on investment in manufacturing and failure to keep the company’s books in order, Henry Ford II inherited a financial mess when he took over the company. In response, he allowed finance and management experts, rather than car men, to dominate the company under his watch. Unfortunately, these managers turned corporate headquarters into an ivory tower, considering Ford’s development facilities and factories as expenses and not as the key to the company’s revenue. On account of the high cost of entering the car manufacturing business, General Motors, Ford and Chrysler had little competition, and their greatest fear was a strike that would stop production and allow their rivals to claim more market share. As a result, whenever the United Auto Workers threatened a strike, they would usually get the pay or benefits increase they were demanding. At the same time, the factories were being squeezed to keep their costs down while the cost of labor was rising. How did they manage this? By skimping on quality.
The Big Three got away with this for about two decades after World War II because the post-war economic boom led to a rising demand for consumer goods such as cars. In that time period, an affluent family would replace their cars every three or four years. The used cars would be bought by poorer families, who would patch them up to keep them running. As the economy began to stumble in the 60’s and 70’s, however, people began desiring cars that cost less to operate and maintain while the car manufacturers wanted to continue to make the big gas guzzlers that maximized their profits.
World War II had shattered the confidence of the Japanese, the superior American military technology having convinced them that they were not as advanced as they thought they were. Furthermore, their industrial base was in ruins and had to be rebuilt. General MacArthur, in charge of the occupation of Japan and attempting to implement democratic reforms, permitted labor unions, dominated by Communist activists, to become more powerful. However, as the Cold War heated up and American government became more pro-business, he allowed the Japanese to suppress the Communists. With a few more maneuvers, the unions became extensions of the companies themselves, with the union officials enforcing employee discipline.
As Japan started manufacturing cars again, it faced quality problems as well as limitations on the capabilities of the steel industry, which at that time couldn’t make the sub-millimeter sheet metal needed for car bodies. As a result, the millimeter-thick sheet metal made for heavy but rugged cars. Having learned of an off-road race in Australia, an individual at Nissan pushed for and got management approval for an entry into the race. After the rugged car won the race, management decided that they were ready for the export market and sent staff to the U.S. to learn the market and start making the arrangements to market cars and trucks under the brand name Datsun to avoid dishonoring the name “Nissan” should the effort fail. Issues they encountered included:
• Unlike the Japanese, Americans drive on the right side of the road, and need steering wheels on the left.
• Cars that were adequate for the bad roads in Japan were underpowered for the highways of the U.S., and their brakes were substandard.
• The batteries in the cars were undersized and incapable of providing sufficient cold cranking amps to start the cars in the winter in northern states. Unlike Japan, in which a car was a prized possession, whose owners often covered in blankets overnight, Americans left their cars outside and exposed to the elements yet expected them to start on demand.
• Unlike the Japanese, Americans often chose to use trucks as passenger vehicles and not exclusively for the transport of cargo. Such customers would welcome features such as air conditioning that would make driving them more comfortable.
As members of a highly insular culture, the Nissan management had a hard time understanding why Americans used their cars differently from the Japanese and thought that a car good enough for Japan was good enough for America, it took a lot of persuading by staff stationed in the U.S. to get them to modify their product lines to produce cars and trucks that could compete in America, often at the cost of damage to their careers, but they eventually changed the attitudes of their management.
A particularly entertaining episode involved the first sporty car marketed by Nissan in America. The head of Nissan liked the musical My Fair Lady and decreed that this new sports car would be called the Fair Lady. In America, the name tag was pried off and replaced with one listing the company’s internal designation, 240Z. The car was a great success. If you ever wondered how Nissan came up with the Z-series nomenclature, now you know.
As Japanese car manufacturers such as Nissan improved their quality changed their export product lines such that they were producing cars suitable for the American market, they began claiming an ever-increasing market share in America. Customers who were dissatisfied with the high operating and maintenance costs of American-made gas guzzlers whose poor quality was a maintenance headache welcomed the fuel-efficient Japanese cars that were less likely to break down. It is highly ironic that the Japanese car-makers overcame their own insular culture and changed the way they did business for the sake of a customer base an ocean away while American car-makers refused to acknowledge the legitimate grievances of customers in their own country.
The American car manufacturers deserved every bit of the reckoning brought on by competition from Japan, but they did have one legitimate grievance of their own. Japan’s protectionist policies presented huge obstacles to entering the Japanese car market. That Detroit would have been willing make cars that Japanese might want to buy is highly questionable to me, but a nation reliant on other countries’ openness should be willing to offer a quid pro quo.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and learned a lot from it. Because the book focuses on car manufacturing, that is the focus of the review, but the book also discusses the dynamics leading to the export of manufacturing jobs, not just those associated with the automotive industry, from America starting in the 70’s and accelerating in the 80’s.
In this book, published in 1986, Mr. Halberstam chronicles how the once mighty Big Three car makers in Detroit alienated much of their customer base and found themselves fighting for their lives in the face of Japanese competition. He selected Ford as the representative American car manufacturer because it was sufficiently small to be vulnerable to changing market conditions but also sufficiently healthy to not have its very survival threatened, unlike Chrysler. Because Ford was the number two car manufacturer in America, he chose Nissan, the number two car manufacturer in Japan, as the representative Japanese car manufacturer. Although Chrysler is not featured, it gets more attention than General Motors because of the feud between Lee Iacocca, President and later Chairman of Chrysler, and Henry Ford II, who had fired him from his position as President of Ford Motor Company (Iacocca considered turning around Chrysler as an act of revenge against Henry Ford II.).
Because of Henry Ford’s over-emphasis on investment in manufacturing and failure to keep the company’s books in order, Henry Ford II inherited a financial mess when he took over the company. In response, he allowed finance and management experts, rather than car men, to dominate the company under his watch. Unfortunately, these managers turned corporate headquarters into an ivory tower, considering Ford’s development facilities and factories as expenses and not as the key to the company’s revenue. On account of the high cost of entering the car manufacturing business, General Motors, Ford and Chrysler had little competition, and their greatest fear was a strike that would stop production and allow their rivals to claim more market share. As a result, whenever the United Auto Workers threatened a strike, they would usually get the pay or benefits increase they were demanding. At the same time, the factories were being squeezed to keep their costs down while the cost of labor was rising. How did they manage this? By skimping on quality.
The Big Three got away with this for about two decades after World War II because the post-war economic boom led to a rising demand for consumer goods such as cars. In that time period, an affluent family would replace their cars every three or four years. The used cars would be bought by poorer families, who would patch them up to keep them running. As the economy began to stumble in the 60’s and 70’s, however, people began desiring cars that cost less to operate and maintain while the car manufacturers wanted to continue to make the big gas guzzlers that maximized their profits.
World War II had shattered the confidence of the Japanese, the superior American military technology having convinced them that they were not as advanced as they thought they were. Furthermore, their industrial base was in ruins and had to be rebuilt. General MacArthur, in charge of the occupation of Japan and attempting to implement democratic reforms, permitted labor unions, dominated by Communist activists, to become more powerful. However, as the Cold War heated up and American government became more pro-business, he allowed the Japanese to suppress the Communists. With a few more maneuvers, the unions became extensions of the companies themselves, with the union officials enforcing employee discipline.
As Japan started manufacturing cars again, it faced quality problems as well as limitations on the capabilities of the steel industry, which at that time couldn’t make the sub-millimeter sheet metal needed for car bodies. As a result, the millimeter-thick sheet metal made for heavy but rugged cars. Having learned of an off-road race in Australia, an individual at Nissan pushed for and got management approval for an entry into the race. After the rugged car won the race, management decided that they were ready for the export market and sent staff to the U.S. to learn the market and start making the arrangements to market cars and trucks under the brand name Datsun to avoid dishonoring the name “Nissan” should the effort fail. Issues they encountered included:
• Unlike the Japanese, Americans drive on the right side of the road, and need steering wheels on the left.
• Cars that were adequate for the bad roads in Japan were underpowered for the highways of the U.S., and their brakes were substandard.
• The batteries in the cars were undersized and incapable of providing sufficient cold cranking amps to start the cars in the winter in northern states. Unlike Japan, in which a car was a prized possession, whose owners often covered in blankets overnight, Americans left their cars outside and exposed to the elements yet expected them to start on demand.
• Unlike the Japanese, Americans often chose to use trucks as passenger vehicles and not exclusively for the transport of cargo. Such customers would welcome features such as air conditioning that would make driving them more comfortable.
As members of a highly insular culture, the Nissan management had a hard time understanding why Americans used their cars differently from the Japanese and thought that a car good enough for Japan was good enough for America, it took a lot of persuading by staff stationed in the U.S. to get them to modify their product lines to produce cars and trucks that could compete in America, often at the cost of damage to their careers, but they eventually changed the attitudes of their management.
A particularly entertaining episode involved the first sporty car marketed by Nissan in America. The head of Nissan liked the musical My Fair Lady and decreed that this new sports car would be called the Fair Lady. In America, the name tag was pried off and replaced with one listing the company’s internal designation, 240Z. The car was a great success. If you ever wondered how Nissan came up with the Z-series nomenclature, now you know.
As Japanese car manufacturers such as Nissan improved their quality changed their export product lines such that they were producing cars suitable for the American market, they began claiming an ever-increasing market share in America. Customers who were dissatisfied with the high operating and maintenance costs of American-made gas guzzlers whose poor quality was a maintenance headache welcomed the fuel-efficient Japanese cars that were less likely to break down. It is highly ironic that the Japanese car-makers overcame their own insular culture and changed the way they did business for the sake of a customer base an ocean away while American car-makers refused to acknowledge the legitimate grievances of customers in their own country.
The American car manufacturers deserved every bit of the reckoning brought on by competition from Japan, but they did have one legitimate grievance of their own. Japan’s protectionist policies presented huge obstacles to entering the Japanese car market. That Detroit would have been willing make cars that Japanese might want to buy is highly questionable to me, but a nation reliant on other countries’ openness should be willing to offer a quid pro quo.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book and learned a lot from it. Because the book focuses on car manufacturing, that is the focus of the review, but the book also discusses the dynamics leading to the export of manufacturing jobs, not just those associated with the automotive industry, from America starting in the 70’s and accelerating in the 80’s.
November 7, 2020
This is a true epic in the scope it covers and the truth it tells. It took 5 years for Halberstam to write this sweeping and majestic work that chronicles the rise of Detroit - and the reckoning faced by American auto industry in the 80s from the challenge mounted by the Japanese carmakers like Toyota, Nissan, Honda and Mazda. It took me 5 weeks to finish this almost 800 page tome. One of the best return on investments ever - to gain one year of deep knowledge per week is priceless - 52X return on time invested!
This is how books should be written, in the real journalistic spirit, through the relentless pursuit of truth and years and years of painstaking evenhanded research. This is NOT a quick and opinionated sensationalist take on the current topical matter - which is lamentably what most of the non-fiction books today turn out to be.
Although primarily focused on the ascension of the Japanese automotive industry and the malaise of its American counterpart; with Ford and Nissan, playing the central characters, it covers so so much more. From how “finance men” can slowly and imperceptibly destroy manufacturing companies like McNamara and other whiz kids did in Detroit; to how Unions like UAW let their own strength sow the seeds of their destruction by letting wages rise so high that losing jobs to the Asian nations became an inevitability; to how the Japanese non-inclusive policies later led to the rise of Korea (and now China); to how the battles of egos and personalities within the companies turn out to have far larger impact on their future than all external events.
The thing I found most attractive about this book was the humanity imbued to each character, minor or major; as well as the attention to the personal stories and reasons of the men (it was almost all men) who shaped the events in this book. From the legends of the Henry’s and the tragedy of the Edsels; to the striving and betrayals of Masuda and Shioji and the Union men; to the executives like Kawamata, Ayukawa, Katayama, Lundy, McNamara, Arjay Miller, Iacocca, Knudsen, Caldwell; the engineers like Gorham, Deming, Shelby and so many more - Halberstam tries to do justice to everyone and mostly succeeds.
Although published more than 30 years ago, the book is relevant even today as the same trends are playing out again. History repeats itself probably because people do not change and the same few human stories play out over and over, making everything repeat in a loop. My review can not possible do this magnificent book any semblance of justice. However I would like to end by saying that for all those working in, involved with, or even connected to the automotive industry this is a must read to comprehend why the industry is the way it is today.
This is how books should be written, in the real journalistic spirit, through the relentless pursuit of truth and years and years of painstaking evenhanded research. This is NOT a quick and opinionated sensationalist take on the current topical matter - which is lamentably what most of the non-fiction books today turn out to be.
Although primarily focused on the ascension of the Japanese automotive industry and the malaise of its American counterpart; with Ford and Nissan, playing the central characters, it covers so so much more. From how “finance men” can slowly and imperceptibly destroy manufacturing companies like McNamara and other whiz kids did in Detroit; to how Unions like UAW let their own strength sow the seeds of their destruction by letting wages rise so high that losing jobs to the Asian nations became an inevitability; to how the Japanese non-inclusive policies later led to the rise of Korea (and now China); to how the battles of egos and personalities within the companies turn out to have far larger impact on their future than all external events.
The thing I found most attractive about this book was the humanity imbued to each character, minor or major; as well as the attention to the personal stories and reasons of the men (it was almost all men) who shaped the events in this book. From the legends of the Henry’s and the tragedy of the Edsels; to the striving and betrayals of Masuda and Shioji and the Union men; to the executives like Kawamata, Ayukawa, Katayama, Lundy, McNamara, Arjay Miller, Iacocca, Knudsen, Caldwell; the engineers like Gorham, Deming, Shelby and so many more - Halberstam tries to do justice to everyone and mostly succeeds.
Although published more than 30 years ago, the book is relevant even today as the same trends are playing out again. History repeats itself probably because people do not change and the same few human stories play out over and over, making everything repeat in a loop. My review can not possible do this magnificent book any semblance of justice. However I would like to end by saying that for all those working in, involved with, or even connected to the automotive industry this is a must read to comprehend why the industry is the way it is today.
January 6, 2025
Read for UROP
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 29, 2018
Classic work of big non-fiction, taking in decades of developments from around the world and leading up to the present day ("present day" of when the book was published in the early 1980s). This book gives a thumbnail sketch of the start of the auto industry in Detroit and its growth through the Great Depression and WWII and influence on not only American culture, but especially on the workplace, unions and economic life. Then, it switches to the decades-long decline in the industry, which came through both its own arrogance and also through the relentless competition of the Japanese automakers in the 1960s and beyond.
Credit author David Halberstam with prescience, because a lot of what he was writing about 30 years ago still resonates today.We're still watching the Rust Belt decline, especially Detroit. We still have protectionist impulses. We still haven't found a better way to protect workers than unions. We still think that a few loud and aggressive business leaders can change the world, and yet we still envy the money and perks that those guys demand.
The book is set up in a way that's both dynamic and also, unfortunately, a little limiting. Every chapter focuses on an individual's experience within the giant machinery of a car company or the car industry. This grabs your attention because every chapter starts with a personal anecdote or two, and you are drawn in to the next issue that the author wants to explore. Whether it's Henry Ford insisting that he can build a workable car, and then make it better and better, or a Japanese union leader building his power base at Nissan, the stories are deeply compelling.
Also, the author is great at pivoting from those individuals to the bigger picture. He shows how one person's situation represents the larger change, whether it's a worker on an assembly line floor (once-grateful U.S. die makers becoming embittered when their jobs are eliminated, or Japanese workers who are grateful simply to be able to eat), or whether it's the titans of Ford battling over whether decisions should be made for short-term financial reasons or long-term interests in building better, more exciting cars. The level of anecdote that the author uncovers is truly amazing.
But after a while, this style wears a little thin, You feel that you're not getting enough about the technological forces and broad economic forces that drove change. For example, you don't understand how a Ford assembly plant worked, even though its innovation is what created the auto industry that is the core of the story. You don't understand how Japanese plants in the 1950s and beyond transformed that assembly line and the worker-management relationship --- except that you're assured by the author that they did change it somehow.
Basically, the book gives too much attention to the industrial leader as the force behind all change. In the case of Henry Ford, focusing on him is legitimate. Maybe, too, for a couple of the Nissan leaders. But for the others -- Lee Iacocca and his ilk -- this model breaks down. And it falls into a trap of the worst of the financial and business writing of the last 30 years, the idea that there are a bunch of business leaders who are geniuses, visionaries, etc., and they can solve the world's problems. We see it today with Elon Musk, and we've seen it in the past with Bill Gates and Steve Jobs. And before that with the heads of leveraged buyout firms. In the telling of their tales, the contributions of thousands of others have been swept under the rug. And when those visionaries, inevitably, screw up, we're left to go search for the next rock-star business person.
And bottom line, this book is about a screwup.
Regardless, it's a great book. It's hard for people to understand how important cars were in the 1970s, but also how bad they were. They broke down, they rusted, they spewed astounding amounts of pollution, and they were dangerous. This book explains why the system evolved as it did, and it explains some of the forces that created the change: rising oil prices, advocacy of Ralph Nader for safety, and the emergence of Japan as a consumer goods power.
Credit author David Halberstam with prescience, because a lot of what he was writing about 30 years ago still resonates today.We're still watching the Rust Belt decline, especially Detroit. We still have protectionist impulses. We still haven't found a better way to protect workers than unions. We still think that a few loud and aggressive business leaders can change the world, and yet we still envy the money and perks that those guys demand.
The book is set up in a way that's both dynamic and also, unfortunately, a little limiting. Every chapter focuses on an individual's experience within the giant machinery of a car company or the car industry. This grabs your attention because every chapter starts with a personal anecdote or two, and you are drawn in to the next issue that the author wants to explore. Whether it's Henry Ford insisting that he can build a workable car, and then make it better and better, or a Japanese union leader building his power base at Nissan, the stories are deeply compelling.
Also, the author is great at pivoting from those individuals to the bigger picture. He shows how one person's situation represents the larger change, whether it's a worker on an assembly line floor (once-grateful U.S. die makers becoming embittered when their jobs are eliminated, or Japanese workers who are grateful simply to be able to eat), or whether it's the titans of Ford battling over whether decisions should be made for short-term financial reasons or long-term interests in building better, more exciting cars. The level of anecdote that the author uncovers is truly amazing.
But after a while, this style wears a little thin, You feel that you're not getting enough about the technological forces and broad economic forces that drove change. For example, you don't understand how a Ford assembly plant worked, even though its innovation is what created the auto industry that is the core of the story. You don't understand how Japanese plants in the 1950s and beyond transformed that assembly line and the worker-management relationship --- except that you're assured by the author that they did change it somehow.
Basically, the book gives too much attention to the industrial leader as the force behind all change. In the case of Henry Ford, focusing on him is legitimate. Maybe, too, for a couple of the Nissan leaders. But for the others -- Lee Iacocca and his ilk -- this model breaks down. And it falls into a trap of the worst of the financial and business writing of the last 30 years, the idea that there are a bunch of business leaders who are geniuses, visionaries, etc., and they can solve the world's problems. We see it today with Elon Musk, and we've seen it in the past with Bill Gates and Steve Jobs. And before that with the heads of leveraged buyout firms. In the telling of their tales, the contributions of thousands of others have been swept under the rug. And when those visionaries, inevitably, screw up, we're left to go search for the next rock-star business person.
And bottom line, this book is about a screwup.
Regardless, it's a great book. It's hard for people to understand how important cars were in the 1970s, but also how bad they were. They broke down, they rusted, they spewed astounding amounts of pollution, and they were dangerous. This book explains why the system evolved as it did, and it explains some of the forces that created the change: rising oil prices, advocacy of Ralph Nader for safety, and the emergence of Japan as a consumer goods power.
June 18, 2013
Will Chase and Sarah ever be together? Has Sarah been reincarnated as Sarina, a powerful human vampire hunter filled with the determination and grit to end the lives of every vampire on the planet? What drives Sarina in her quest? Decades have passed, yet Chase still searches for Sarah’s soul, so they may finally be reunited, but things have changed and the forces of fate have stepped in, once again to thwart his dreams. When a deadly hunter cuts down an entire coven of vampires, Chase comes face to face with Sarina as she is about to end his existence, but a connection is made and once again, fate toys with Chase. Will they finally find happiness together or will someone close to them stand in their way? Sarina has a family, but her attraction to Chase is undeniable. Can they live with the consequences of their love or are there too many truths not yet revealed?
The Reckoning by the ever-creative S. L. Ross packs an emotional punch that will have your head spinning! Just when you think you have things figured out and you try to reconcile it all in your mind, reflecting first on book one, when Sarah was clueless as to who she was, then book two, when she gains and loses so much, and on to book three when she deals with decades of loneliness in her self-imposed exile, and you’re thinking, FINALLY, she will find happiness, Ms. Ross whips out her magic monkey wrench and once again, throws in a twist that gives you whiplash! Fabulous reading from a gifted storyteller!
I, once again, must thank the author for the opportunity to read and review one of her best books to date!
Expected Publication Date: October 31, 2013
For more reviews check out Tome Tender's Book Blog or find us on Facebook.
The Reckoning by the ever-creative S. L. Ross packs an emotional punch that will have your head spinning! Just when you think you have things figured out and you try to reconcile it all in your mind, reflecting first on book one, when Sarah was clueless as to who she was, then book two, when she gains and loses so much, and on to book three when she deals with decades of loneliness in her self-imposed exile, and you’re thinking, FINALLY, she will find happiness, Ms. Ross whips out her magic monkey wrench and once again, throws in a twist that gives you whiplash! Fabulous reading from a gifted storyteller!
I, once again, must thank the author for the opportunity to read and review one of her best books to date!
Expected Publication Date: October 31, 2013
For more reviews check out Tome Tender's Book Blog or find us on Facebook.
June 26, 2013
SI received this book in exchange for an honest review.
I am sort of mixed about this book.
This book is about Sarah being reborn after Samuel (Erick reborn) (:-() kills her. I still can't believe that! Anyways, we pick up with Sarina and her training and being informed that now she has to go out and rid the world of vampires because she is a hunter. After accepting this and deciding to do as she needs to so that she can come home to her husband (Alex) and Daughter (Callie) she goes out and cleans house :-)
Chase has heard of the vampire hunter through friends and wonders if this is in fact his Sarah. He chases her down and truly believes that this is Sarah and he is set that he is going to go about this differently than ever before. We go on their platonic path with them and as with every century they fall in love and conceive.
Chase is determined to stay away from Sarina and at one point decides to go to her house. Where he finds out that Sarina is not in fact Sarah but Sarah's mother! He then realizes that that was the missing link the entire time, the mother.
Chase decides to go on with his life and he finds love and marries and starts his own family. Only to have his son befriend Callie. What a tangled web life is :-)
So the ending was sweet although not the HEA that we have all come to love but it was a nice way to leave it with Sarina sparing Chase's life.
I am glad I read this series and certainly recommend it to anyone looking for a good story to read.
I am sort of mixed about this book.
This book is about Sarah being reborn after Samuel (Erick reborn) (:-() kills her. I still can't believe that! Anyways, we pick up with Sarina and her training and being informed that now she has to go out and rid the world of vampires because she is a hunter. After accepting this and deciding to do as she needs to so that she can come home to her husband (Alex) and Daughter (Callie) she goes out and cleans house :-)
Chase has heard of the vampire hunter through friends and wonders if this is in fact his Sarah. He chases her down and truly believes that this is Sarah and he is set that he is going to go about this differently than ever before. We go on their platonic path with them and as with every century they fall in love and conceive.
Chase is determined to stay away from Sarina and at one point decides to go to her house. Where he finds out that Sarina is not in fact Sarah but Sarah's mother! He then realizes that that was the missing link the entire time, the mother.
Chase decides to go on with his life and he finds love and marries and starts his own family. Only to have his son befriend Callie. What a tangled web life is :-)
So the ending was sweet although not the HEA that we have all come to love but it was a nice way to leave it with Sarina sparing Chase's life.
I am glad I read this series and certainly recommend it to anyone looking for a good story to read.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 29, 2018
I thought from the cover that this was a period and thus maybe dated considering of Japanese disruption of the American car market back in the 80s. If anything, that is a merely the denouement of a consideration of the history of both nation's auto industries, largely from WWII to the early '80s. The author focuses on Ford and the corresponding Japanese #2, Nissan. On the Ford side, the eventual modernization and broadening of the company's scope seems to have occured in spite of Henry Ford the found -- he comes across as heading toward paranoid seclusion -- and his grandson Henry II who comes across as a disinterested, petulant drunk. Of course, Chrysler (apparently perennially in need of rescue) gets a lot of coverage as the Iacocca era is a bit of a post-Ford venture.
The Japanese side is really a tale of a broken nation -- broken even in spirit -- finding will and in America friendly opportunity and then succeeding through the hard work, diligence and attention to quality lacking for too long on the large car-loving other side of the Pacific where fat times got translated into pay (from laborer to CEO) and benefits too dear for indefinite support.
The Japanese side is really a tale of a broken nation -- broken even in spirit -- finding will and in America friendly opportunity and then succeeding through the hard work, diligence and attention to quality lacking for too long on the large car-loving other side of the Pacific where fat times got translated into pay (from laborer to CEO) and benefits too dear for indefinite support.
March 28, 2019
I hesitate to give this fewer than five stars because, well, its Halberstam and other reviewers like it for very good reasons. As one reviewer put it, this is a decline and fall of the Roman empire story. As such, it is a well-told tale and if that's what you're looking for, it's worth the read.
But, I took an American foreign policy course in college in which the professor taught us that, as good a story as Best and the Brightest was, it didn't reflect a lot of the realities of the Viet Nam War.
Similarly, Halberstam doesn't get the decline and fall of American dominance of the global auto industry quite right either. No doubt executives in Detroit were out of touch, but, like the arrogant best and brightest, that doesn't explain all that much about what happened.
His in-the-room story telling is second to none, but his research and argument don't quite hold up.
But, I took an American foreign policy course in college in which the professor taught us that, as good a story as Best and the Brightest was, it didn't reflect a lot of the realities of the Viet Nam War.
Similarly, Halberstam doesn't get the decline and fall of American dominance of the global auto industry quite right either. No doubt executives in Detroit were out of touch, but, like the arrogant best and brightest, that doesn't explain all that much about what happened.
His in-the-room story telling is second to none, but his research and argument don't quite hold up.
August 6, 2019
Amazing work of reporting
This is another great one. I loved his history of the fifties and this book is even better. He seems to capture the spirit of the auto industry and especially the spirit of Ford and Nissan the number two auto companies in each of their countries. I can’t imagine how he got so much inside information on the people, the cultures and the major issues faced by each company over an 80 year time span. He has a knack for making me feel like I was there I the meetings, in the private conversations and even in the thoughts of the key players. I have a close friend who was an exec at Ford during that time. I’m going to see if this book tracks with his recollections. It truly seems like a plausible story. I loved it.
This is another great one. I loved his history of the fifties and this book is even better. He seems to capture the spirit of the auto industry and especially the spirit of Ford and Nissan the number two auto companies in each of their countries. I can’t imagine how he got so much inside information on the people, the cultures and the major issues faced by each company over an 80 year time span. He has a knack for making me feel like I was there I the meetings, in the private conversations and even in the thoughts of the key players. I have a close friend who was an exec at Ford during that time. I’m going to see if this book tracks with his recollections. It truly seems like a plausible story. I loved it.
February 23, 2018
Finally the truth about what was behind the near collapse of DETROIT!
Another in depth analysis of a vital part of our country and the men who were responsible for so much of the failure. So many of us boomers lived through this without ever really knowing why these things were happening to our once 'invinceble' auto industry!
As usual with any Halberstam book, you must have patience to work through the details of all of the players, both big and little, that always come together in the later chapters. But it is worth it in the end when he ties it all together.
Another in depth analysis of a vital part of our country and the men who were responsible for so much of the failure. So many of us boomers lived through this without ever really knowing why these things were happening to our once 'invinceble' auto industry!
As usual with any Halberstam book, you must have patience to work through the details of all of the players, both big and little, that always come together in the later chapters. But it is worth it in the end when he ties it all together.
August 13, 2018
I was always curious to study Japan’s post war accent. So I picked this book since it takes you through the journey from the automobile industry view point. Nonetheless this is a fitting explanation which still holds true after 3 decades and you won’t realise that you are reading a book from the 80s.
In author’s words “something profound that has taken place so quietly, in such small increments, that it is barely visible to the naked eye”. This book provides you that visibility.
In author’s words “something profound that has taken place so quietly, in such small increments, that it is barely visible to the naked eye”. This book provides you that visibility.
September 29, 2014
I really do love his writing - this is a fascinating story about the American car industry around the birth of imports. American hubris led these educated, powerful men to willfully ignore the oncoming freight train of foreign imports. Understanding the inner workings of the industry and the impact it had on Detroit and other communities makes this a constant recommendation for me.
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