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Driven: A Photobiography of Henry Ford
Driven: A Photobiography of Henry Ford is a riveting profile of the man whose invention revolutionized American life: the industrial visionary who changed the automobile from rich man’s toy into affordable necessity. Don Mitchell weaves archival images from the Benson Ford Research Center with quotes from Ford’s writings, speeches, and interviews to create a lively, comprehensive profile of this intriguing individual.
Fiercely independent, and a man of complex contradictions, Henry Ford is revealed above all as a man driven to achieve his dream of building "a motor car for the great multitude," accessible to all. Driven includes a time line, resource list, and index.
Fiercely independent, and a man of complex contradictions, Henry Ford is revealed above all as a man driven to achieve his dream of building "a motor car for the great multitude," accessible to all. Driven includes a time line, resource list, and index.
64 pages, Hardcover
First published May 11, 2010
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
December 28, 2018
I chose the book because I wanted to know more about Henry Ford. The book is all about Henry Ford's life. There was nothing controversial in the book. The title does fit the book since Henry was an automobile designer. The book surprised me because some of the workers from the company attacked 2 GMC people without any purpose.
December 16, 2017
One amazing man, continue to amaze us!
September 5, 2021
We need him today.
What a nice human he was.
Love the story ,he understand business .
What a nice human he was.
Love the story ,he understand business .
February 21, 2022
A nice quick overview on Henry Ford
February 13, 2011
"An educated man is not one whose memory is trained to carry a few dates in history -- he is one who can accomplish things. A man who cannot think is not an educated man no matter how many college degrees he may have acquired."
Henry Ford had a huge impact in making manufacturing processes more efficient, clean, and safe for workers in America. He spent years trying and failing, thinking through problems and learning from his engineering mistakes. He figured out how to make the assembly line model work, and he built cars that were affordable enough for average people to buy. Because there were more cars, more gas stations and roads were needed, and this meant more jobs and businesses across the country! Henry Ford also was incredibly generous. He built the Henry Ford Hospital, and insisted that prices for care be low and fixed, so that all could afford to get quality care. He built schools, and spent millions on improving education, developing better farming techniques and investigating possible sources of renewable energy. He hated war, and joined a group of peace activists who tried unsuccessfully to go to Europe in 1915 to end the fighting there. For all he did to help others, Henry Ford didn't do everything right. He allowed his security force to beat and abuse striking workers who wanted to join a union, he undermined his only son's efforts to run the company, and he bought a newspaper to publish his anti-semitic articles blaming Jews for most of the world's problems. Henry Ford was a complicated, flawed human being, and Don Mitchell does an excellent job balancing his successes with his problems. Large, historical photos show the development of various automobile lines, factory improvements, and important people and places in Ford's life. Everything is washed in silvery steel colors -- the light, Vanadium steel that made the Model T possible, opening the door to the rest of the story. Strong 6th grade readers and up.
Henry Ford had a huge impact in making manufacturing processes more efficient, clean, and safe for workers in America. He spent years trying and failing, thinking through problems and learning from his engineering mistakes. He figured out how to make the assembly line model work, and he built cars that were affordable enough for average people to buy. Because there were more cars, more gas stations and roads were needed, and this meant more jobs and businesses across the country! Henry Ford also was incredibly generous. He built the Henry Ford Hospital, and insisted that prices for care be low and fixed, so that all could afford to get quality care. He built schools, and spent millions on improving education, developing better farming techniques and investigating possible sources of renewable energy. He hated war, and joined a group of peace activists who tried unsuccessfully to go to Europe in 1915 to end the fighting there. For all he did to help others, Henry Ford didn't do everything right. He allowed his security force to beat and abuse striking workers who wanted to join a union, he undermined his only son's efforts to run the company, and he bought a newspaper to publish his anti-semitic articles blaming Jews for most of the world's problems. Henry Ford was a complicated, flawed human being, and Don Mitchell does an excellent job balancing his successes with his problems. Large, historical photos show the development of various automobile lines, factory improvements, and important people and places in Ford's life. Everything is washed in silvery steel colors -- the light, Vanadium steel that made the Model T possible, opening the door to the rest of the story. Strong 6th grade readers and up.
May 16, 2011
Driven
Goodreads says that Lee Iococca wrote this book with Don Mitchell. Iococca wrote the foreward to the book only. I hope that this is corrected immediately.
This biography, published by National Geographic, is an excellent book with wonderful photographs. Mitchell's writing is clear and he ably shows the conflicting sides of Henry Ford. I do wonder if he explored Ford's antisemitism and antilabor activities. Why would Ford be so inclusive to African-Americans, the disabled, women, immigrants, and workers on the one hand and then be so vehemently opposed to the Jews and "wink" at the violent union busting activities of his pal Harry Bennett?
This is a valuable biography that every school should probably own and should be included in history and reading curricula. But I am lost as to why it is so exceptional that it was nominated for the Dorothy Canfield Fisher Award in Vermont. It is a good book, but not a great book. It offers nothing new to the Ford history or discussion.
Ordinarily, I would have given this book four or five stars, but because it is a DCF nominee, I have to award it only three.
Goodreads says that Lee Iococca wrote this book with Don Mitchell. Iococca wrote the foreward to the book only. I hope that this is corrected immediately.
This biography, published by National Geographic, is an excellent book with wonderful photographs. Mitchell's writing is clear and he ably shows the conflicting sides of Henry Ford. I do wonder if he explored Ford's antisemitism and antilabor activities. Why would Ford be so inclusive to African-Americans, the disabled, women, immigrants, and workers on the one hand and then be so vehemently opposed to the Jews and "wink" at the violent union busting activities of his pal Harry Bennett?
This is a valuable biography that every school should probably own and should be included in history and reading curricula. But I am lost as to why it is so exceptional that it was nominated for the Dorothy Canfield Fisher Award in Vermont. It is a good book, but not a great book. It offers nothing new to the Ford history or discussion.
Ordinarily, I would have given this book four or five stars, but because it is a DCF nominee, I have to award it only three.
March 5, 2015
Read this book to my daughter and found it very interesting. Henry Ford is a fascinating man who accomplished so much. He is truly an original and one of the most influential men in American history. He did have his flaws, however, and the book doesn't shy away from them, even though it is written for children. Despite being a champion for the common worker, Ford was vehemently anti-union. And, although he made an effort to hire minorities and people with disabilities, he was vocally anti-Semitic. His management of Ford Motor Co., which was so stellar in his early years, faltered at the end of his life. He favored a ruthless, bullying executive in the company over Edsel, the son that Henry had appointed as Ford's president, creating problems in both the Ford family and company. Despite his flaws, I think America could use more people like Henry Ford--people who believe in hard-work and self-reliance and who know how to get things done.
The book has a lively design and features many old photos, making it kid- (and adult :-) ) friendly. One criticism: I think the book would have read a bit better if it had been divided into chapters.
The book has a lively design and features many old photos, making it kid- (and adult :-) ) friendly. One criticism: I think the book would have read a bit better if it had been divided into chapters.
March 19, 2011
If I could give three and a half stars, I would. This was fascinating. Really fascinating. I learned tons I didn't know, both good and bad, about Henry Ford.
One thing I didn't love about the book, and is the main reason I picked three stars rather than 4, is the use of historical documents as the "background" for photographs. Let us see those! They are printed so faintly, you can't actually read them. But how better to convey ideas, especially in a biography meant for kids, than to let them see. I mean, early blueprints of the model T? They deserve to be more than a really faint background. And there is a letter from Helen Keller to Ford, thanking him for his support of people with disabilities--that's history! Let us actually see it!
Despite my problem with the photos and documents, this was well worth reading, and I learned a lot. I don't feel like the bad stuff was sugar-coated, either.
Geography Challenge: Detroit, MI and surrounding area
One thing I didn't love about the book, and is the main reason I picked three stars rather than 4, is the use of historical documents as the "background" for photographs. Let us see those! They are printed so faintly, you can't actually read them. But how better to convey ideas, especially in a biography meant for kids, than to let them see. I mean, early blueprints of the model T? They deserve to be more than a really faint background. And there is a letter from Helen Keller to Ford, thanking him for his support of people with disabilities--that's history! Let us actually see it!
Despite my problem with the photos and documents, this was well worth reading, and I learned a lot. I don't feel like the bad stuff was sugar-coated, either.
Geography Challenge: Detroit, MI and surrounding area
December 7, 2010
I was amazed by this man. I knew his name as was associated with cars, but he was a real leader in the buiness world. He believed in learning by getting in there and doing it, not by memorizing facts in school. For example, while developing an engine for a new model of car, he needed to learn about electricity, so he went to work for the Edison company, and he became one of their top men. This is a great story about a man WAAAAy ahead of his time, though as the book points out, he was human and made several mistakes.
December 31, 2011
The strangest thing about this book is that it claims in the title to be a "photo biography" but I would argue it didn't have nearly enough interesting, engaging photos to be labeled as such! I thought the book was well-written and I learned some interesting things about Henry Ford but I had a hard time because the book was pretty technical regarding his inventions and work with automobiles and I'm just not that interested in the subject. If you have a child interested in automobiles, they will love this book...
September 29, 2013
Three things immediately struck me:
1. Henry Ford sounds a lot like a strange anti-Semitic/Santa hybrid version of Arthur Guiness.
2. The opening quote talks about how Ford imagined that his motor car would allow people "the blessing of hours of pleasure in God's great open spaces"-- I think he'd be a bit dismayed at how people now prefer texting over marveling at all the nature passing right on by through the window.
3. Snuffleupagus is at the very bottom of page 33! (That, or it's a yeti.)
1. Henry Ford sounds a lot like a strange anti-Semitic/Santa hybrid version of Arthur Guiness.
2. The opening quote talks about how Ford imagined that his motor car would allow people "the blessing of hours of pleasure in God's great open spaces"-- I think he'd be a bit dismayed at how people now prefer texting over marveling at all the nature passing right on by through the window.
3. Snuffleupagus is at the very bottom of page 33! (That, or it's a yeti.)
June 10, 2010
This book, part of the outstanding National Geographic Photobiography series, presents a balanced look at Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company. Artifacts throughout the book like ads, photographs, blueprints, and maps, provide excellent research support. Includes a timeline of Ford's life and additional resource list in the back.
September 22, 2010
Another wonderful biography from National Geographic. This one is about Henry Ford. He didn't invent the automobile, but he made it affordable for most people. An amazing thing during the 1920s! He had some amazing ideas for his time, but he also was flawed. I learned a great deal from this book.
August 26, 2016
An interesting and well-balanced biography with many primary source documents. The style is clean and text is easy to read. Ford's drive and self-determination are highlighted but the author doesn't shy away from disclosing the less savory facts of Ford's life, anti-Semitism and union busting violence. A great introduction to this famous person.
July 25, 2010
Henry Ford comes to life in this National Geographic Biography. Strong captions help the reader understand Henry as a boy, youth and adult. We understand the impact he has upon our country and the world with more than just his ideas about automobiles. Grades 2-5
April 21, 2013
Doing a little research for a potential book idea that includes Henry Ford so this easy-to-read photobiography was a nice introduction to his life. Filled with lots of tidbits that would be useful for Kia doing biographical research as well.
June 15, 2010
As someone who hails from the Detroit area, I found this book especially fascinating. It is wonderful to read about a time when Detroit was flourishing and the envy of the world.
August 13, 2010
Interesting biography of Henry Ford that reveals both his genius and his weaknesses.
September 25, 2010
A solid biography.
December 3, 2010
A fascinating portrayal of a complex man. The book is also visually appealing and has a lot of great sources for additional information.
August 16, 2011
A short, yet interesting photobiography of Henry Ford. It did touch upon his anti-antisemitism, as well as his lifetime accomplishments.
April 7, 2016
Great book with succinct facts about Henry Ford's life. The pictures really compliment the narrative.
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews