Samuel Marquis was Henry Ford’s friend, church minister and employee for many years. The book isn’t a biography, rather is is an honest and clear-eyed assessment of Henry Ford. It is not completely complimentary – infact Marquis and Ford fell out and it was this which prompted Marquis to write in the first place.
The book is full of little parable-like anecdotes which cast a fascinating reflection on Ford the man. A farm boy, Ford loved nature, and would go out of his way for animals, at one time locking his own front door, and having everyone use a different entrance, so that a robin nesting nearby would not be disturbed by people passing. One year, he organized for shelters to be built for rabbits on his land, so they had somewhere warm to be in the winter. So successful was the scheme that over the next few years the rabbit population exploded, and due to their huge numbers began to destroy the orchards and other crops, forcing Ford, regretfully, to exterminate them.
Just like the rabbit shelters, the Ford vision and energy created an explosion in the population who could afford to own a car, and just like the rabbits, now a few years have gone by, and we sit in traffic jams in smoggy cities, worrying about our oil-based economies, we are forced to wonder if Ford’s ideas might be backfiring on us too, just like it did on those rabbits…..
This aritlce went ahead and made my day.
I so love that you meetionnd this museum! I was raised in Detroit and cannot count how many times I went to Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village as a kid, but I’ve not gone back in what is probably a decade now. I am reminded why I need to make a return trip, so thank you for that.
Henry Ford was a hero. He is credited with innnvtieg mass production and the franchised dealer system. His factories created a new economic model that lifted the working classes out of poverty. He created affordable autos for all. He was a lifelong advocate for peace, yet his vehicle, armament and aircraft plants did more than any others to win World War II. And he left almost all his wealth to a charitable foundation.Yes, he had personal flaws. (You can read all about them on Wikipedia.) But we could use more of his kind of leadership today.