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My Life And Work (The Autobiography Of Henry Ford)
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"My Life and Work" is the autobiography of Henry Ford. Written in conjunction with Samuel Crowther, "My Life and Work" chronicles the rise and success of one of the greatest American entrepreneurs and businessmen. Henry Ford and the Ford Motor Company will forever be identified with early 20th century American industrialism. The innovations to business and direct impact on
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Paperback, 140 pages
Published
January 1st 2007
by Digireads.com
(first published 1922)
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Start your review of My Life And Work (The Autobiography Of Henry Ford)
You're reading this book and you just think the whole time "man this guy is so awesome and so smart he rules." And you mention it to someone that you're reading it and they say "he was an anti-semite." And you think "oh he couldn't have been. He goes on and on about the worth of all people and he genuinely seems to care about everyone.' And then there's this one random passage in the last chapter where he basically says something like "I know we get a lot of guff for the jew thing but honestly i
...more
Wow.
Released around 1923, except for the prices, this book could have been written yesterday.
Mr. Ford is a character with very stringent and seemingly unbending views and beliefs on life and what is right and what is wrong. He speaks with great authority and makes many sweeping statements that caused me to wonder.
But a great read!
Released around 1923, except for the prices, this book could have been written yesterday.
Mr. Ford is a character with very stringent and seemingly unbending views and beliefs on life and what is right and what is wrong. He speaks with great authority and makes many sweeping statements that caused me to wonder.
But a great read!
A book about a man who changed the world with his vision and philosophy. The book is filled with wisdom and core principles about business which are as equally valuable today as it were back then. Hord was a big believer in self-reliance, simplicity, and honest hard work. While most of the other businessmen in his industry were chasing revenue, Henry Ford was focusing on service and developing a good product that would be available for everyone. Entrepreneurs today can learn a lot from this.
Henry Fords “My life and work” was a great book. It was full of great ideas about business and life. In the book he told some about his childhood and growing up, how he grew up on his family farm but always wanted to implement smarter ideas to make his work easier. He told about his business ideas including ways he cut down weight and save money while creating an overall better product. I would recommend this book to anyone in high school or over looking for a thoughtful read that makes you thin
...more
Terrific perspective from a great man whose principles guided him to become one of the most defining men in American industrial history. IMO, this book, although published almost 100 years ago, gives a still timely recipe for what it takes to be successful for any true business person, and should be read by anyone interested in what it takes to be a part of the true "American Dream," a notion that's hanging on only by a thread in this country today.
Anyone who's in any kind of manufacturing role ...more
Anyone who's in any kind of manufacturing role ...more
Some interesting ideas, many of which I agree with. Nothing exceptional here though.
The 2nd time I read this book and –again- I am impressed by Henry Ford.
Henry ford was born July 30, 1863, on a farm at Dearborn, Michigan.US. He was the founder of The Ford Motor Company and the first person to develop the assembly line of mass production. He was the first person to produce a car affordable by public people.
When young, he was a very good watch repairman. At the age of twelve, he encountered a road engine one day when he was driving to town and it was that engine which took him ...more
Henry ford was born July 30, 1863, on a farm at Dearborn, Michigan.US. He was the founder of The Ford Motor Company and the first person to develop the assembly line of mass production. He was the first person to produce a car affordable by public people.
When young, he was a very good watch repairman. At the age of twelve, he encountered a road engine one day when he was driving to town and it was that engine which took him ...more
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Summary: Must read. It's often quoted, but without having read this, you can only but have these intense words of wisdom out of context. Ford was a genius and he would have been a success even today. Wow. This is a top 5 book for 2019 for me.
P. 8 - He talks about work being the natural order of things and that to move against it will cause angst. He just thinks that if we're going to do it, we ought to do it cleverly. He then says: "I am not a reformer. I think there is entirely too much attempt ...more
P. 8 - He talks about work being the natural order of things and that to move against it will cause angst. He just thinks that if we're going to do it, we ought to do it cleverly. He then says: "I am not a reformer. I think there is entirely too much attempt ...more
Good stuff. Aside from the antisemitism
Wow.
Apr 19, 2013
Eden
rated it
really liked it
Recommends it for:
Fans of automobile and industrial history, and fans of biographies
4 stars
"The natural thing to do is to work - to recognize that prosperity and happiness can be obtained only through honest effort."
My Life and Work is the autobiography of Henry Ford, an industrialist and the founder of Ford Motor Company.
On this book, Ford starts by describing his first meeting with clockworks and automobiles and a little of his story before he founded Ford Motor Company and how he worked to make it start and grow. As the Ford Motor Company become well-established and well-kno ...more
"The natural thing to do is to work - to recognize that prosperity and happiness can be obtained only through honest effort."
My Life and Work is the autobiography of Henry Ford, an industrialist and the founder of Ford Motor Company.
On this book, Ford starts by describing his first meeting with clockworks and automobiles and a little of his story before he founded Ford Motor Company and how he worked to make it start and grow. As the Ford Motor Company become well-established and well-kno ...more
This is gold.
I had hoped but never imagined to the extent that Henry Ford was the real deal entrepreneur. Ford was the original engineer who embraced the power of economic markets to further his aims for humanity. His life, work, schools and systems of education are awe inspiring.
Young farmer Ford took 12 years until he created the model T. His first car was hellishly noisy, had no reverse, two gears and bicycle wheels. He thought farmers would appreciate his automated trawlers but instead the ...more
I had hoped but never imagined to the extent that Henry Ford was the real deal entrepreneur. Ford was the original engineer who embraced the power of economic markets to further his aims for humanity. His life, work, schools and systems of education are awe inspiring.
Young farmer Ford took 12 years until he created the model T. His first car was hellishly noisy, had no reverse, two gears and bicycle wheels. He thought farmers would appreciate his automated trawlers but instead the ...more
Inspiring, but written in old English and not so much an autobiography. Only the first chapter highlights some details about his life. The rest are just his thoughts on business and on life.
I was really inspired in the first half of the book, but I found the second to be very repetitive.
Gets boring from the middle.
Pretty nice. Interesting facts on how Ford started his own business. Allowed me to re-think some key items regarding your own path and how you should live your life.
This is a truly amazing book with tons of great insights into building great companies, efficient manufacturing and general organization of society.
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
A great look into Ford's mind. This man was a hardcore industrialist, business all day, every day.
His level of practicality was bordering on insanity. The lightness and simplicity of step by step solutions that were actually put to practice leaves you awestruck, even after 100 years.
He took no prisoners, he described his friend Edison as a brilliant scientist but basically a sh*t businessman: "I am not sure that he is not also the world's worst business man. He knows almost nothing of business. ...more
His level of practicality was bordering on insanity. The lightness and simplicity of step by step solutions that were actually put to practice leaves you awestruck, even after 100 years.
He took no prisoners, he described his friend Edison as a brilliant scientist but basically a sh*t businessman: "I am not sure that he is not also the world's worst business man. He knows almost nothing of business. ...more
Absolutely brilliant.
I believe that Henry Ford had a ghost writer as well, but the ideas, the execution and the storyline are his entirely (which is quite obvious since it's his biography).
The things he did for industry in general have truly revolutionized the world of business. Starting with the assembly line (which was also described a little earlier by Adam Smith in "A wealth of nations") up to the reductions in costs and unnecessary personnel, he becomes, in my opinion, the definition of eff ...more
I believe that Henry Ford had a ghost writer as well, but the ideas, the execution and the storyline are his entirely (which is quite obvious since it's his biography).
The things he did for industry in general have truly revolutionized the world of business. Starting with the assembly line (which was also described a little earlier by Adam Smith in "A wealth of nations") up to the reductions in costs and unnecessary personnel, he becomes, in my opinion, the definition of eff ...more
Not good.
Only upto page no 96 his biography exists that too also on very broad level without much details of struggle and challenges. Except 4-5 points which were really the meat in this whole book everything is rushed up.
Rest of the book is his views of various things like money, Soceity, people, poverty etc. which are way too outdated as per today’s law and culture.
You will be able to find more details about his achievements, personal and professional life on google in 5 mins rather than inves ...more
Only upto page no 96 his biography exists that too also on very broad level without much details of struggle and challenges. Except 4-5 points which were really the meat in this whole book everything is rushed up.
Rest of the book is his views of various things like money, Soceity, people, poverty etc. which are way too outdated as per today’s law and culture.
You will be able to find more details about his achievements, personal and professional life on google in 5 mins rather than inves ...more
Amazing autobiography. Full of wisdom (business one and personal one as well) that he actually lived by (and scientifically tested)!
1) Very little case for charity. You rarely need to just give money to someone. Instead, find a full work that they can do (and normally would be done by a healthy person). Missing limbs, being blind having TBC, no problem at all! A lot of jobs do not require both hands, you can do them by touch or you can be isolated form other people. The question is how to allow ...more
1) Very little case for charity. You rarely need to just give money to someone. Instead, find a full work that they can do (and normally would be done by a healthy person). Missing limbs, being blind having TBC, no problem at all! A lot of jobs do not require both hands, you can do them by touch or you can be isolated form other people. The question is how to allow ...more
Half of what Henry Ford writes can be implemented even today, clearly not much has changed over the last 100 years atleast when it comes to manufacturing except for higher automation.
The book gives an insight on how he cut costs and managed to reduce prices and how he got people around to drive cars which were meant for everybody but perceived as luxury. From a marketing perspective he positioned his cars in such a way it felt real not a dream(atleast from the number he projects which should be ...more
The book gives an insight on how he cut costs and managed to reduce prices and how he got people around to drive cars which were meant for everybody but perceived as luxury. From a marketing perspective he positioned his cars in such a way it felt real not a dream(atleast from the number he projects which should be ...more
While reading this I could ignore similarities of what Henry Ford was doing 100 years ago, and how industry reacted to his innovations, to what is happening now with Elon Musk and Tesla. I think this is one of those cases if you want to understand what is happening now and what to expect in the future, you need to look back in history.
Book goes through some fundamental ideas and principals that I think if more people would understand we would have a better world.
At times book is repetitive but ...more
Book goes through some fundamental ideas and principals that I think if more people would understand we would have a better world.
At times book is repetitive but ...more
When you realized that it was published on 1922 and rules has still a lot of sense for today business it is much bigger fun in reading.
This is not exactly an autobiography, but it's interesting.
I do not recommend it to anyone, but I have benefited from it. ...more
I do not recommend it to anyone, but I have benefited from it. ...more
Wonderfully rich and well-realized account of not only business strategy, but personal philosophy about how massive-scale factory work can help humanity as a whole. Ayn Rand eat your heart out. Narrator does well. [LIBRARY AUDIOBOOK]
Note: I’m choosing to forget about the incredibly disturbing few pages near the end of the book, in which Ford turns to a certain, particularly misguided personal belief.
Note: I’m choosing to forget about the incredibly disturbing few pages near the end of the book, in which Ford turns to a certain, particularly misguided personal belief.
This is one of the best books I have ever read. Henry Ford has an undying passion, urge to simplify things and is obsessed with quality, minimalism and ethics, the kind of qualities you look for in a role model. In this super-cool business management book Ford explains how he made commercial motor cars at large scale possible, the humongous challenges he faced and a variety of morons he had to deal with.
Ford's take on ideas are amusing. It is the hallmark of an intelligent man when he says "giv ...more
Ford's take on ideas are amusing. It is the hallmark of an intelligent man when he says "giv ...more
I've been working at Ford for one year. I am glad to join this great company, so as to drive me to read the book: My life and work, Henry Ford.
I am very impressed by his profound viewpoints on how to make things cheaply in Chapter 5, some of which are useful and predictive nowadays.
First of all, I will detail his smart replies to two questions.
One was if in the mass-production manufacturing fewer men were used, how were they going to find jobs and live. Think about this question was raised by 1 ...more
I am very impressed by his profound viewpoints on how to make things cheaply in Chapter 5, some of which are useful and predictive nowadays.
First of all, I will detail his smart replies to two questions.
One was if in the mass-production manufacturing fewer men were used, how were they going to find jobs and live. Think about this question was raised by 1 ...more
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Henry Ford (July 30, 1863 – April 7, 1947) was an American industrialist, the founder of the Ford Motor Company, and sponsor of the development of the assembly line technique of mass production. Although Ford did not invent the automobile or the assembly line, he developed and manufactured the first automobile that many middle class Americans could afford. In doing so, Ford converted the automobil
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