The Wild Wheel

July 30, 2007 2:59 PM by Mises.org Updates | Other posts by Mises.org Updates | Comments (2)

No one, but no one, tells the story of the Ford Motor Company like Garet Garret. He loved machines and technology, and the markets that create and market them. He loved the car and its transforming effect on society. And he lived through it and knows what he is talking about.

Here he sees Henry Ford for the genius that he was, as an entrepreneur who saw the possibilities and seized on them. He tells of how Ford faced and overcame incredible obstacles on his way to becoming one of the great capitalists of all time.

Garrett doesn't stop there. He chronicles Ford's battles with the government and, in particular, the unions that ended up robbing the company and turning it to their own selfish ends. This was in the 1950s when he was writing, but he could see the future of one long slow decline. And how right he was!

This isn't just a great business history for the regular person, one that provides a window into the making of a great company. Garrett has written a book that will interest people of all ages. It is a wonderful read for the young person who cares about cars. It shows that they are not somehow built into the fabric of society but rather came from the productive system of capitalism, a result of marveous human ingenuity working within an atmosphere of freedom.

Garet Garrett was a talented writer, researcher, and story teller who knew how markets work. This is a book for all times - a capitalist classic.