Clear photographs and a fascinating narrative recount the life of the intelligent, complex, “driven” visionary who would change the course of history, labor, and society through his determination to make cars affordable for the general population. Source Notes, Bibliography, Webliography, Chronology.

Henry Ford invented the Model T car. The car was designed so that everyone could afford it. I was interested in this book because I didn't know much about Henry Ford. This book definitely filled the gaps for me. The author did a good job of explaining the details of Henry Ford's life. ( )

"An educated man is not one whose memory is trained to carry a few dates in history -- he is one who can accomplish things. A man who cannot think is not an educated man no matter how many college degrees he may have acquired." Henry Ford had a huge impact in making manufacturing processes more efficient, clean, and safe for workers in America. He spent years trying and failing, thinking through problems and learning from his engineering mistakes. He figured out how to make the assembly line model work, and he built cars that were affordable enough for average people to buy. Because there were more cars, more gas stations and roads were needed, and this meant more jobs and businesses across the country! Henry Ford also was incredibly generous. He built the Henry Ford Hospital, and insisted that prices for care be low and fixed, so that all could afford to get quality care. He built schools, and spent millions on improving education, developing better farming techniques and investigating possible sources of renewable energy. He hated war, and joined a group of peace activists who tried unsuccessfully to go to Europe in 1915 to end the fighting there. For all he did to help others, Henry Ford didn't do everything right. He allowed his security force to beat and abuse striking workers who wanted to join a union, he undermined his only son's efforts to run the company, and he bought a newspaper to publish his anti-semitic articles blaming Jews for most of the world's problems. Henry Ford was a complicated, flawed human being, and Don Mitchell does an excellent job balancing his successes with his problems. Large, historical photos show the development of various automobile lines, factory improvements, and important people and places in Ford's life. Everything is washed in silvery steel colors -- the light, Vanadium steel that made the Model T possible, opening the door to the rest of the story. Strong 6th grade readers and up. ( )

A biography of Henry Ford that is told in part through pictures. A great story of his life from child to adult. It was neat to see the pictures as Henry grew. This would be great to use in a class studying biographies. The reading level is higher for elementary so it would extend those higher readers without giving them textbook materials. ( )

A riveting profile of the man whose invention revolutionized American life: the industrial visionary who changed the automobile from rich man s toy into affordable necessity. ( )