I Invented the Modern Age: The Rise of Henry Ford

Snow (former editor in chief, American Heritage magazine), delivers a highly readable account of the life and times of Henry Ford. In a direct style, he depicts how Ford's modest farming childhood and uneven early adult years strengthened his character and led to his unrelenting desire to create and produce an automobile that he believed would best fit American society. There have been many examinations of this industrial pioneer. Although Snow does address divisive issues surrounding the early years of the Ford Motor Company, such as its anti-Semitic publications and strong-arm labor tactics, his work focuses mainly on how Ford's audacity and gumption ultimately led to his unparalleled success in the early years of automobile manufacturing. Vincent Curcio's Henry Ford, reviewed above, spends more time on the problematic aspects of Ford and his beliefs. Snow clearly demonstrates how Ford's imagination, perseverance and single-mindedness enabled him to overcome obstacles to perfect automobile assembly-line production and deliver an incredibly affordable vehicle.