The Public Image of Henry Ford: An American Folk Hero and His Company (Great Lakes Books Series)

Skillful journalism and meticulous scholarship are combined in the full-bodied portrait of that enigmatic folk hero, Henry Ford, and of the company he built from scratch. Writing with verve and objectivity, David Lewis focuses on the fame, popularity, and influence of America's most unconventional businessman and traces the history of public relations and advertising within Ford Motor Company and the automobile industry.

The Public Image of Henry Ford: An American Folk Hero and His Company

Biographies & Memoirs

David L. Lewis

Historical

Great Lakes Books

Orvie: The Dictator of Dearborn : The Rise and Reign of Orville L. Hubbard (Great Lakes Books)

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.

David L. Good

Henry's Lieutenants (Great Lakes Books)

Although Henry Ford gloried in the limelight of highly publicized achievement, he privately admitted, "I don't do so much, I just go around lighting fires under other people." 
Henry's Lieutenants features biographies of thirty-five "other people" who served Henry Ford in a variety of capacities, and nearly all of whom contributed to his fame. These biographical sketches and career highlights reflect the people of high caliber employed by Henry Ford to accomplish his goals: Harry Bennett, Albert Kahn, Ernest Kanzler, William S. Knudsen, and Charles E. Sorenson, among others. Most were employed by the Ford Motor Company, although a few of them were Ford's personal employees satisfying concurrent needs of a more private nature, including his farming, educational, and sociological ventures. 
Ford Bryan obtained a considerable amount of the material in this book from the oral reminiscences of the subjects themselves.

Ford R. Bryan

Kids Catalog of Michigan Adventures (Great Lakes Books)

Ellyce Field

These 52 narratives feature the tales of three 19th-century Ojibwa storytellers - Charles and Charlotte Kawbawgam and Jacques LePique. Collected by Homer H. Kidder, the stories present a fresh view of an early period of Ojibwa thought and the way of life in Michigan's Upper Peninsula.

Ojibwa Narratives of Charles and Charlotte Kawbawgam and Jacques Lepique, 1893-1895

Charles Kawbawgam

With over 200 photographs chosen from thousands in the collection of Henry Ford Museum & Greenfield Village, Beyond the Model T gives attention to Henry Ford's numerous ventures outside of the auto industry. This revised edition, with 26 additional photographs and two new chapters, completes the portrait of Ford's life, givingdepth to a man previously known only for the Model T. Through vivid photographs and narration, Ford's boundless energy andvision are revealed.An enthusiastic and courageous entrepreneur, Henry Ford used profits from the Model T to launch projects in a multitude of areas, from education to rubber production. Ford R. Bryan presents an unknown Henry Ford, focusing on his experimental humanitarian and business enterprises- including those that failed. New to this edition are chronicles of factory and general hospitals, nursing schools and services,health clinics, and a research institute established by Henry Ford, and the more than a dozen commissaries Ford operated, selling a wide assortment of items to Ford employees and their families from pillow cases to children's shoes. These accounts give testimony to Ford's investment in the well-being of the working class, a category in which he included himself despite his wealth, and disclose his dreams for a country uponwhich he undeniably left his mark.

Beyond the Model T: The Other Ventures of Henry Ford (Great Lakes Books)

Professionals & Academics

Uppermost Canada examines the historical, cultural, and social history of the Canadian portion of the Detroit River community in the first half of the nineteenth century. The phrase "Uppermost Canada," denoting the western frontier of Upper Canada (modern Ontario), was applied to the Canadian shore of the Detroit River during the War of 1812 by a British officer, who attributed it to President James Madison. The Western District was one of the partly-judicial, partly-governmental municipal units combining contradictory arisocratic and democratic traditions into which the province was divided until 1850. With its substantial French-Canadian population and its veneer of British officialdom, in close proximity to a newly American outpost, the Western District was potentially the most unstable. Despite all however, Alan Douglas demonstrates that the Western District endured without apparent change longer than any of the others.

Uppermost Canada: The Western District and the Detroit Frontier, 1800-1850 (Great Lakes Books)

History

R. Alan Douglas

Americas

For the first time, a historian and seasoned mariner looks beyond the specific circumstances of individual shipwrecks in an effort to reach a clearer understanding of the economic, political, and psychological factors that have influenced the 25,000 wrecks on the Great Lakes over the past 300 years. Looking at the entire tragic history of shipwrecks on North America's expansive inland seas, from the 1679 loss of the Griffon to the mysterious sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald in 1975, Mark L. Thompson concludes that a wreck is not an isolated event. In Graveyard of the Lakes, Thompson suggests that most of the accidents and deaths on the lakes have been the result of human error, ranging from simple mistakes to gross incompetence. In addition to his compelling analysis of the causes of shipwrecks, Thompson includes factual accounts of more than one hundred wrecks. Graveyard of the Lakes will forever change the reader's perspective on shipwrecks.

Graveyard of the Lakes (Great Lakes Books)

Mark L. Thompson

Albert Kahn: Builder of Detroit (Detroit Biography Series for Young Readers)

Albert Kahn was an architect at the dawn of the automobile age, when the Motor City came into its own. This biography tells young readers how he overcame numerous disadvantages to make that indelible mark. Raised in a poor family, Kahn's formal education ended when he was 12. He was colorblind and was fired from his first architectural job for "lack of talent." Yet through skill, determination, and self-confidence he turned hardship to advantage and realized his dream of becoming an architect.   Although Kahn attributed much of his success to the good fortune of being in the right place at the right time, he exemplified hard work and perseverance. Matuz's account conveys that example for young readers who can see the results of Kahn's determination in their own world.

Teen & Young Adult

Roger Matuz

Biographies

Albert Kahn was an architect at the dawn of the automobile age, when the Motor City came into its own. This biography tells young readers how he overcame numerous disadvantages to make that indelible mark. Raised in a poor family, Kahn's formal education ended when he was 12. He was colorblind and was fired from his first architectural job for "lack of talent." Yet through skill, determination, and self-confidence he turned hardship to advantage and realized his dream of becoming an architect. Although Kahn attributed much of his success to the good fortune of being in the right place at the right time, he exemplified hard work and perseverance. Matuz's account conveys that example for young readers who can see the results of Kahn's determination in their own world.

Children's Books

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Books by Great Lakes Books

See the best price to sell, buy or rent books by the Great Lakes Books publisher. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

The Public Image of Henry Ford: An American Folk Hero and His Company

Orvie: The Dictator of Dearborn : The Rise and Reign of Orville L. Hubbard (Great Lakes Books)

Henry's Lieutenants (Great Lakes Books)

Kids Catalog of Michigan Adventures (Great Lakes Books)

Ojibwa Narratives of Charles and Charlotte Kawbawgam and Jacques Lepique, 1893-1895

Beyond the Model T: The Other Ventures of Henry Ford (Great Lakes Books)

Uppermost Canada: The Western District and the Detroit Frontier, 1800-1850 (Great Lakes Books)

Graveyard of the Lakes (Great Lakes Books)

Albert Kahn: Builder of Detroit (Detroit Biography Series for Young Readers)

Albert Kahn: Builder of Detroit (Detroit Biography Series for Young Readers)