Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company, didn't invent the car or even his famous assembly line. However, he was the innovator who made these things wildly successful. In fact, his practices and ideas shaped American life and business in the twentieth century, even helping the war effort in World War II, and continue to do so today. This biography uses quotations and writings to trace Henry Ford's rise from humble farm boy to thriving entrepreneur.

My Life and Work is a classic autobiography of the great American business mogul, Henry Ford. Henry Ford (July 30, 1863 - April 7, 1947) was an American industrialist, the founder of the Ford Motor Company, and sponsor of the development of the assembly line technique of mass production. Although Ford did not invent the automobile or the assembly line, he developed and manufactured the first automobile that many middle class Americans could afford. This is his story in his own words. Although Ford did not invent the automobile or the assembly line, [1] he developed and manufactured the first automobile that many middle-class Americans could afford. In doing so, Ford converted the automobile from an expensive curiosity into a practical conveyance that would profoundly impact the landscape of the 20th century. His introduction of the Model T automobile revolutionized transportation and American industry. As the owner of the Ford Motor Company, he became one of the richest and best-known people in the world. He is credited with "Fordism" mass production of inexpensive goods coupled with high wages for workers. Ford had a global vision, with consumerism as the key to peace. His intense commitment to systematically lowering costs resulted in many technical and business innovations, including a franchise system that put dealerships throughout most of North America and in major cities on six continents. Ford left most of his vast wealth to the Ford Foundation and arranged for his family to control the company permanently. Ford was also widely known for his pacifism during the first years of World War I, and for promoting antisemitic content, including The Protocols of the Elders of Zion through his newspaper The Dearborn Independent and the book The International Jew. Henry Ford was born July 30, 1863, on a farm in Greenfield Township, Michigan.[2] His father, William Ford (1826-1905), was born in County Cork, Ireland, to a family that was originally from Somerset, England.[3] His mother, Mary Ford (née Litogot; 1839-1876), was born in Michigan as the youngest child of Belgian immigrants; her parents died when she was a child and she was adopted by neighbors, the O'Herns. Henry Ford's siblings were Margaret Ford (1867-1938); Jane Ford (c. 1868-1945); William Ford (1871-1917) and Robert Ford (1873-1934). His father gave him a pocket watch in his early teens. At 15, Ford dismantled and reassembled the timepieces of friends and neighbors dozens of times, gaining the reputation of a watch repairman.[4] At twenty, Ford walked four miles to their Episcopal church every Sunday.[5] Ford was devastated when his mother died in 1876. His father expected him to eventually take over the family farm, but he despised farm work. He later wrote, "I never had any particular love for the farm--it was the mother on the farm I loved."[6] In 1879, Ford left home to work as an apprentice machinist in Detroit, first with James F. Flower & Bros., and later with the Detroit Dry Dock Co. In 1882, he returned to Dearborn to work on the family farm, where he became adept at operating the Westinghouse portable steam engine. He was later hired by Westinghouse to service their steam engines. During this period Ford also studied bookkeeping at Goldsmith, Bryant & Stratton Business College in Detroit.

Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company, didn't invent the car or even his famous assembly line. However, he was the innovator who made these things wildly successful. In fact, his practices and ideas shaped American life and business in the twentieth century, even helping the war effort in World War II, and continue to do so today. This biography uses quotations and writings to trace Henry Ford's rise from humble farm boy to thriving entrepreneur.

My Life and Work is a classic autobiography of the great American business mogul, Henry Ford. Henry Ford (July 30, 1863 - April 7, 1947) was an American industrialist, the founder of the Ford Motor Company, and sponsor of the development of the assembly line technique of mass production. Although Ford did not invent the automobile or the assembly line, he developed and manufactured the first automobile that many middle class Americans could afford. This is his story in his own words. Although Ford did not invent the automobile or the assembly line, he developed and manufactured the first automobile that many middle-class Americans could afford. In doing so, Ford converted the automobile from an expensive curiosity into a practical conveyance that would profoundly impact the landscape of the 20th century. His introduction of the Model T automobile revolutionized transportation and American industry. As the owner of the Ford Motor Company, he became one of the richest and best-known people in the world. He is credited with "Fordism" mass production of inexpensive goods coupled with high wages for workers. Ford had a global vision, with consumerism as the key to peace. His intense commitment to systematically lowering costs resulted in many technical and business innovations, including a franchise system that put dealerships throughout most of North America and in major cities on six continents. Ford left most of his vast wealth to the Ford Foundation and arranged for his family to control the company permanently. Ford was also widely known for his pacifism during the first years of World War I, and for promoting antisemitic content, including The Protocols of the Elders of Zion through his newspaper The Dearborn Independent and the book The International Jew. Henry Ford was born July 30, 1863, on a farm in Greenfield Township, Michigan.

Henry Ford’s vision of a car for Everyman and a living wage for his employees created the middle class and forever changed America. But the deeply flawed genius got lost in his own new world. Among the lessons you can learn from his life: Make yourself stand out. If you find a diamond, don’t throw it away. Don’t neglect your opportunities no matter how remote. Understand your weaknesses. When you do recognize your mistakes, don’t punish the world for them. Henry Ford was far from the only inventor chasing the horseless carriage at the turn of the century, and it took him three decades after his encounter with the road roller in 1876 to roll out the Model T in 1908. Even then, he had to outmaneuver his financial backers to pursue his vision of building a car for everyone. Sooner or later, of course, someone else might well have done it. But the world is what it is because of Ford’s patient, dogged determination. If you have a big idea, don’t give up on it. New Word City, publishers of digital originals, contributes 10 percent of its profits to literacy causes.

Born on a small farm in rural Michigan, Henry Ford’s humble beginnings were no match for his ambition. Ford quickly created a manufacturing dynasty, bringing affordable cars to the masses and forever changing America and the American workplace. Who Was Henry Ford? details his meteoric rise, and explains how the genius behind the assembly line and the Model T shaped modern American industry.

Henry Ford was an engineer, businessman, founder of the Ford Motor Company, the largest company in the world at the time, and an extraordinary entrepreneur. Ford was the first entrepreneur to apply assembly line production, enabling the production of a large number of automobiles in less time and at a lower cost. Henry Ford's ideas revolutionized the thinking of the time and led to the mechanization of labor, mass production, and standardization of machinery and equipment. In this autobiography, which is part of the Entrepreneurs collection, Ford describes his first encounter with automobiles and a bit of his history before founding the Ford Motor Company and how he worked to make it the largest company in the world. Henry Ford also presents his opinions on business, industry, mass production, wages and money, social concerns and charity, and how he applied the principles of the Ford Motor Company factories to a school, hospital, and railway. "Henry Ford: My Life, My Work," an illustrated ebook with photos from the time, with a preface by our great writer Monteiro Lobato, is an extremely interesting and educational book for anyone wishing to learn about entrepreneur Henry Ford and his ideas, as well as the second industrial revolution in the words of someone who participated in its construction.