Ford Tough : Bill Ford and the Battle to Rebuild America's Automaker

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Summary: The story of how Bill Ford revived the Ford Motor Company
Review: Ford Tough: Bill Ford And The Battle To Rebuild America's Automaker is the story of how Bill Ford revived and reshaped the Ford Motor Company, bringing the 100+ year old automobile manufacturer back from the bring of ruin. Ford Tough reveals the inner workings of the company while offering a detailed portrait of the first member of the illustrious Ford family to take charge of the company since 1979. A dedicated environmentalist and a man with a deep sense of personal and corporate responsibility to his employees, Bill Ford is revealed as the man who played a crucial role against seemingly insurmountable odds in creating the company's ultimately successful turnaround. Superbly narrated by Chris Ryan, this recommended, flawlessly recorded, CD format audio book is abridged on three discs with a total of a three hour running time.


Rating:
Summary: A bit rosy, but good nonetheless.
Review: My dad use to work for Ford in the late seventies, so he bought Fords well into the early eighties. So, as a kid growing up the eighties, all I saw was my dad trying to fix the Fords in the late eighties. I actually thought that a car breaking down every few months was actually normal. Needless to say, I own a Toyota now. So this book intrigued me. How could a company that my father was proud of revive itself to something that I might consider purchasing a product from?

Well, this book describes Bill Ford's life and the life of the Ford Motor company. To address the negatives first, while mostly honest, he tends to overestimate how bad things have gotten in the nineties while and overestimates how good Ford is in the present day and in the not so recent past. He gives the impression that Ford's quality issues and their financial problems were recent problems that are totally resolved. He makes Bill Ford look like a super genius who fixed everything in his first few year.

Now to point out the good. This book is part history lesson, part biography, part financial, part business book all mixed into one. Magee actually goes into depth with not just mere anecdotes and Bill Ford's life story, but gets into numbers and processes. He talks about management styles, he talks about strategies. He delves into design and the competition. More importantly, he brings a lot of relevant and pertinent information in a fluid, quick manner that doesn't bog down the reader.

I will definitely read more books from this author, and for anyone interested in the automotive industry, or anyone interested in large corporations, this book is a must read.