Henry Ford's Own Story


Read by Lee Ann Howlett

(4.8 stars; 177 reviews)

Rose Wilder Lane was a newspaper reporter, free-lance writer, political activist, and the daughter of Laura Ingalls Wilder, author of the "Little House" series of popular children's books. In this biography of Henry Ford, Ms. Lane worked directly with Ford to tell his story from his birth to his founding of the Ford Motor Company and his use of modern assembly lines to mass produce his cars. (Summary by Lee Ann Howlett.) (4 hr 27 min)

Chapters

00 - Foreword 5:39 Read by Lee Ann Howlett
01 - One Summer's Day 8:35 Read by Lee Ann Howlett
02 - Mending a Watch 9:44 Read by Lee Ann Howlett
03 - The First Job 7:59 Read by Lee Ann Howlett
04 - An Exacting Routine 8:30 Read by Lee Ann Howlett
05 - Getting The Machine Idea 9:06 Read by Lee Ann Howlett
06 - Back To The Farm 9:48 Read by Lee Ann Howlett
07 - The Road To Hymen 8:54 Read by Lee Ann Howlett
08 - Making A Farm Efficient 8:35 Read by Lee Ann Howlett
09 - The Lure Of The Machine Shops 7:58 Read by Lee Ann Howlett
10 - "Why Not Use Gasoline?" 8:53 Read by Lee Ann Howlett
11 - Back To Detroit 7:38 Read by Lee Ann Howlett
12 - Learning About Electricity 7:31 Read by Lee Ann Howlett
13 - Eight Hours, But Not For Himself 8:27 Read by Lee Ann Howlett
14 - Struggling With The First Car 9:01 Read by Lee Ann Howlett
15 - A Ride In The Rain 8:23 Read by Lee Ann Howlett
16 - Enter Coffee Jim 8:29 Read by Lee Ann Howlett
17 - Another Eight Years 8:24 Read by Lee Ann Howlett
18 - Winning A Race 8:40 Read by Lee Ann Howlett
19 - Raising Capital 8:24 Read by Lee Ann Howlett
20 - Clinging To A Principle 8:56 Read by Lee Ann Howlett
21- Early Manufacturing Trials 10:00 Read by Lee Ann Howlett
22 - Automobiles For The Masses 8:41 Read by Lee Ann Howlett
23 - Fighting The Seldon Patent 8:41 Read by Lee Ann Howlett
24 - "The Greatest Good To The Greatest Number" 9:07 Read by Lee Ann Howlett
25 - Five Dollars A Day Minimum 9:21 Read by Lee Ann Howlett
26 - Making It Pay 9:39 Read by Lee Ann Howlett
27 - The Importance Of A Job 8:31 Read by Lee Ann Howlett
28 - A Great Educational Institution 8:34 Read by Lee Ann Howlett
29 - The European War 8:11 Read by Lee Ann Howlett
30 - The Best Preparedness 8:48 Read by Lee Ann Howlett

Reviews

Own Story


(3 stars)

Rose Wilder Lane was the daughter of Laura Elizabeth Ingalls Wilder, who wrote the <i>Little House</i> series. In 1915 Rose was 29 years old and working for the <i>San Francisco Chronicle</i> when she gave a series of informal interviews with Henry Ford. These articles became the basis for a book-length biography called <i>Henry Ford's Own Story</i>, published in 1917. Rose's 1915 biography was only the second about Ford ever published at that point, yet it was still early in his career, he would live another 30 years yet. It's unfortunately a mythologizing account with factual inaccuracies, Ford himself was unhappy with it. The personal details of Ford, his machines and history become secondary to Rose's fictionalization for the sake of story. She did the same thing in biographies of Charlie Chaplin and Jack London (who were also unhappy with her treatments). In her stories, the same simple heroic romance is retold of life as a successful struggle against adversity and its inevitable reward. It makes for good literary fiction of the Dicken's fated universe type - the good guys win and the bad guys get their due - but as biographies of well known and famous living people, they were a mixed blessing, a astute reader could see there must be more to the story left unsaid. There have been many biographies of Ford, some of them pretty good. While this one is enjoyable enough, I can't really recommend it, even Ford himself didn't like it. At its best it is an example of how Ford was mythologized from early on into a populist hero, and how he was viewed by the world circa 1915/17. It might be appropriate for some juvenile readers. Whatever the faults of Rose's book, the <a href="http://www.archive.org/details/henry_fords_own_story_1006_librivox" rel="nofollow">LibriVox reading</a> by Lee Ann Howlitt is very well done and pleasant to listen to, I hope she continues reading more books at LibriVox! [STB | 062010 | 758]

Long Ride company


(3.5 stars)

Kept me company on a cross country trip. The story was good enough, but the reader's lack of real excitement stole some of the energy from the read. One in awhile she would totally miss the intended emphasis on certain words or phrases. STILL, I would recommend the book as a good intro to the early life of Ford

Great book about great man!


(5 stars)

Great reader and book! Things we now enjoy as minimum wage, safety on job, teaching emigrants English language, 8 hour work day were all introduce by Henry Ford (don't know if he was the first one to introduce it) before it was common practice. He genuinely cares about his employees.

Henry Ford's Own Story


(5 stars)

Ford was fair with his coworkers, suppliers, employees, and purchasers of his transportation tools to delivering valuable productivity machines that can be purchased by nearly any worker at fair price. Ford wanted to create valuable productivity products at minimum cost that could be purchased by maximum number of workers and consumers.


(4 stars)

Rose wilder Lanes writing is a joy that brings memories of her mother's writing style. That early factual americana. The book portrays Ford as always loving the common man. I think I believe it. The book is a young adult level but makes for a pleasant quick overview of the businessman's life.

Clear and Insightful


(4.5 stars)

This biography of Ford was interesting, well-written, and mostly enjoyable. Thanks to Ms. Howlett for her time in narrating it. Her voice sounds a bit funny for a little while (almost Southern, but not quite!) but I was soon used to it. Overall it was a fascinating book.


(5 stars)

What a beatyfull story by a great man. Why are we not teaching our children about true heroes such as Henry Ford. Thank you to those that took the time to share Henry Ford biography with the world.

A Man of incredible talent, determination and goodness


(5 stars)

I have a much better and admirable view of Henry Ford. Excellent narration- I will look for her other narrations.