Camping with Henry & Tom: A Play in Two Acts

by Mark St. Germain

Henry Ford, Thomas Edison, and President Harding wonder how they got stuck in the woods together. Based on an actual event, this farce set in 1921 has surprising political relevance.

Genres: Plays, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Drama, Historical

83 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1995

Reviews

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Henry Ford (Alan Alda), President Harding (David Dukes) and Thomas Edison (Charles Durning) take off on their own & get stuck in the woods together where they take their personalities out for a bit of air. Durning did a great job as a grumpy Edison. Alda was a fantastic Ford with his idealism & fire. Dukes, who I wasn't familiar with, played a wonderfully nice-guy Harding. Very well played, often amusing, but also very timely in the view of politics. They haven't changed much.

[Tim Blackburn · Rating 3 out of 5]

A screenplay of historical fiction. Historical fiction is not a personal favorite but this audiobook is good. An actual camping trip with President Warren G. Harding, Henry Ford, and Thomas Edison did indeed occur in 1921. This book is a stage play of the conversations that could have occurred. This dramatization puts President Harding in a much better light than he probably deserves. Henry Ford is depicted as a businessman who aches to be President (sound like 2016??), and Thomas Edison as the wise old bird who has seen it all. Alan Alda, Charles Durning, and Lee Arenberg playing the parts makes this an incredibly interesting audiobook. Perhaps deserving of more than the 3 stars I give it because of my prejudice to historical fiction.

[Tom Rowe · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a historical fictive play about a real camping trip taken by Warren Harding, Henry Ford, and Thomas Edison. It has its moments, but it mostly consists of character explorations of the three gentlemen in question. Sometimes it is funny. This was an audio produciton of the play. Alan Alda and Charles Durning played Ford and Edison, and since they both have distintive voices, it was hard for me not to picture Hawkeye Pierce or Charles Durning in anything he has ever played rather than the characters of Ford and Edison. I don't recommend unless the idea of a camping trip with these three men intrigues you.

[Brandon Leatherman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting "what if" story, and pretty funny. I like these historical plays (Moonlight and Magnolias was another one) that include actual facts from the lives of its characters, of which I get curious and Google them for more information and for the complete story.

[Brian McCann · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve owned this play for more than 20 years, but never read it before. Highly enjoyable and illuminating about three men I didn’t know too much about. Glad I read it.

[Ron · Rating 4 out of 5]

Has its moments. Actors make the play.

[Joe]

A short entertaining story.

[Vladimiro Sousa · Rating 4 out of 5]

funny and interesting!

[Ryan Albrecht · Rating 3 out of 5]

A decent script with some interesting things to say, but takes way too long to get to the truth of Ford’s character

[As You Wish · Rating 4 out of 5]

We’ll done and I was surprised by the antisemetic rant near the end, which I assume was drawn from actual letters/conversations. Alan Alda was great.

[Bala · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is very entertaining. The actors did a fantastic job of it representing the historical characters. I enjoyed listening this audiobook.

[Bobby Sullivan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A bit contrived, but this play has a lot of timely ideas, especially given the 2016 election results. Ford, the bigoted corporatist who wants to be President. Edison comes across as cynical and world weary, yet funny. Good play, and not at all dated.

[Clara · Rating 3 out of 5]

I listend to this and it was wonderful!