The literature on political machines of American mayors is rich and varied. Essentially undiscovered, however, is "Orvie," the most flamboyant and original of them all-and, on his home turf, arguably the most powerful. David L. Good describes the public and private life of Orville L. Hubbard, a man whose remarkable political career overlapped the terms of seven presidents. Hubbard was mayor of Dearborn, Michigan, home of the Ford Motor Company, from 1942 to 1978, ranking him as the second-longest-tenured mayor in U.S. history. He became a model for successful suburban leaders, establishing a reputation for outstanding municipal services and low taxes-as well as for the most notorious racist rhetoric north of the Mason-Dixon line. During his reign, Hubbard was compared with nearly all the tyrants of the twentieth century and some before. At his peak of some 350 pounds, Orvie was a blimp-shaped dreadnaught who set up a government in exile in Canada because sheriff's deputies were waiting to arrest him back home; was pictured in the newspapers on his way to the Republican National Convention disguised in a clown mask; and ordered his fire chief to take an axe to the office door of Henry Ford II. Acquitted in a federal civil rights case, Hubbard showed his appreciation to the jury by taking them out to dinner. After the 1967 riots in Detroit, Orvie threatened to "shoot looters on sight." Hubbard took over a town-the town run by the American legend Henry Ford-without a traditional party organization, extensive patronage, or other trappings of a political machine. The "Hubbard machine" was essentially a one-man operation, consisting of Hubbard himself who prevailed on the sheer force of his personality. David L. Good, who reported on Hubbard for eighteen years, bases his book on personal observation, public and private records, and interviews with Hubbard and family members. Although the book reads like the stuff of novels, Orvie: The Dictator of Dearborn is a serious study of one of the most controversial figures in American municipal government.

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LIFE Magazine is the treasured photographic magazine that chronicled the 20th Century. It now lives on at LIFE.com, the largest, most amazing collection of professional photography on the internet. Users can browse, search and view photos of today’s people and events. They have free access to share, print and post images for personal use.

LIFE Magazine is the treasured photographic magazine that chronicled the 20th Century. It now lives on at LIFE.com, the largest, most amazing collection of professional photography on the internet. Users can browse, search and view photos of today’s people and events. They have free access to share, print and post images for personal use.

LIFE Magazine is the treasured photographic magazine that chronicled the 20th Century. It now lives on at LIFE.com, the largest, most amazing collection of professional photography on the internet. Users can browse, search and view photos of today’s people and events. They have free access to share, print and post images for personal use.

Gathers short stories by such authors as Booth Tarkington, Arthur Miller, Rudyard Kipling, Ivan Turgenev, and Jack London.

Its 1907 when a fire in the holler takes Kenny Jo Linder back in memory to a fire that took home and family from her and her little sister. Ma Hardy, a great aunt who Kenny Jo and her sister have come to the mountains to live with, decides its high time to usher her niece out of the pit of grief and guilt. When the annual mission to Willow Forks becomes far more precarious than even Ma expects, Kenny Jo must spend a night at the mysterious old Docs cabin. Meantime Doctor Ned Dirkmeyer is riding a westbound railway coach through the mountains when an aging trestle collapses beneath the weight of the train near Willow Forks, resulting in fatalities and life-threatening injuries. As they struggle to resolve a call-of-the-mountain catch 22, what kind of personal account will each one give? As Ma Hardy commences her annual visits, will Doc Ned accept the invitation to accompany this old-time indigenous healer while devising a plan to investigate the disappearance of Doc Ryan? How does Kenny Jo deal with her own injury and the situation between herself and a little orphaned girl? Must she bury the love she feels for Doc Ned when he leaves to commence his westward journey? The path of honorable endeavor will inevitably present obstacles to try ones faith and patience. To those who lack vision, obstructions become thresholds to frustration and despair. To the wise, obstructions are only minor detainments on the way to rewarding endowments.