Henry Ford: Ignorant Idealist

by David E. Nye

147 pages, Hardcover

First published June 1, 1979

About the author

David E. Nye is Professor of American History at the University of Southern Denmark. The winner of the 2005 Leonardo da Vinci Medal of the Society for the History of Technology, he is the author of Image Worlds: Corporate Identities at General Electric, 1890-1930 (1985), Electrifying America: Social Meanings of a New Technology, 1880-1940 (1990), American Technological Sublime (1994), Consuming Power: A Social History of American Energies (1997), America as Second Creation: Technology and Narratives of New Beginnings (2003), and Technology Matters: Questions to Live With (2006) published by the MIT Press.

Reviews

[Brett Anderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was an excellent insight to Henry Ford's life and the cultural context in which he flourished. The book is divided into 3 parts, which consist of a total of 8 chapters.

Part I, "The World's View of Henry Ford," is an in depth evaluation of Ford as a public figure. It traces his rise to fame and success from the eyes of the public. It traces the shifting public perception of Ford that mirrored the cultural climate and economic swings of the USA as it passed from the high of the twenties through the great depression and back up with the onset of WWII.

Part II, "Henry Ford's View of the World," examines the philosophy and beliefs of Mr. Ford. From beliefs of concerning the "long view of time" to his economic and political stance, the ideas which shaped Ford were thoroughly examined in a way that gave continuity to the actions and statements that had been perceived by the contemporary public as incongruous.

The single chapter of Part III, "Preserving Nature's Order," discusses Ford's quote, that "The machine is the new messiah," as a conclusion tying together Ford as viewed by the public and Ford as a thinker. Here, Nye injects his own interpretation with a heavier hand than the previous sections yet it is a tactfully made argument.

I greatly enjoyed this book and recommend it for anyone interested in Ford.

[Tyler Carlson]

Not very good book. It was kind of boring to read. Great book for Book report but that is about it. It explained Henry Ford's life to the T. If you want to learn about Henry Ford then this is a book for you.