The People's Tycoon by Steven Watts

The People's Tycoon by Steven Watts

How a Michigan farm boy became the richest man in America is a classic, almost mythic tale, but never before has Henry Ford's outsized genius been brought to life so vividly as it is in this engaging and superbly researched biography. The real Henry Ford was a tangle of contradictions. He set off the consumer revolution by producing a car affordable to the masses, all the while lamenting the moral toll exacted by consumerism. He believed in giving his workers a living wage, though he was entirely opposed to union labor. He had a warm and loving relationship with his wife, but sired a son with another woman. A rabid anti-Semite, he nonetheless embraced African American workers in the era of Jim Crow. Uncovering the man behind the myth, situating his achievements and their attendant controversies firmly within the context of early twentieth-century America, Watts has given us a comprehensive, illuminating, and fascinating biography of one of America's first mass-culture celebrities.

Steven Watts is a historian and author who has written a number of acclaimed works about the vast evolution of American society. His biographies of prominent figures, such as Henry Ford, Dale Carnegie, Walt Disney, and Hugh Hefner, have looked at how a modern value system committed to consumerism, self-fulfillment, leisure, and personality came to be. Two previous works on the Early Republic era looked at the transition from a republican society to a Victorian era oriented to self-control, individual character, and the self-made man. Watts' publications have led to his participation in a variety of media ventures, including films for PBS, the History Channel, and documentary venues in Germany and Brazil. He's also appeared on CBS, NBC, CNBC, NPR, Fox, Fox News, C-Span, Bloomberg News, MSNBC, BBC, and Irish National Radio, among others. He is now a history professor at the University of Missouri.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9780375707254
ISBN 10	0375707255
Title	The People's Tycoon
Author	Steven Watts
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Paperback
Publisher	Random House USA Inc
Year published	2006-10-10
Number of pages	656
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.