Billy, Alfred, and General Motors

The Story of Two Unique Men, a Legendary Company, and a Remarkable Time in American History

William Pelfrey - Collection Business/Biography

316 pages, parution le 15/05/2006

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Résumé

One industry has had more impact on life in America than any other before or since. Here is the story of two men and one company at the start of it all.

You couldn't find two more different men. Billy Durant was the consummate salesman, a brilliant wheeler-dealer with grand plans, unflappable energy, and a fondness for the high life. Alfred Sloan was the intellectual, an expert in business strategy and management, master of all things organizational. Together, this odd couple built perhaps the most successful enterprise in U.S. history, General Motors, and with it an industry that has come to define modern life throughout the world. Their story is full of timeless lessons, cautionary tales, and inspiration for business leaders and history buffs alike.

Billy, Alfred, and General Motors is the tale not just of the two extraordinary men of its title but also of the formative decades of twentieth-century America, through two world wars and sea changes in business, industry, politics, and culture. The book includes vivid, warts-and-all portraits of the legends of the golden age of the automobile, from "Crazy" Henry Ford, Ransom Olds, and Charles Nash to the brilliant but uncredited David Dunbar Buick and Cadillac founder Henry Leland.

The impact of Durant and Sloan on their contemporaries and their industry is matched only by the powerful legacy of their improbable and incredible partnership. Characters, events, and context-all are brought skillfully and passionately to life in this meticulously researched and supremely readable book.

L'auteur - William Pelfrey

William Pelfrey (Beverly Hills, MI) spent 15 years at General Motors Corp., most recently as Director of Executive Communications. A former journalist, he reported from Vietnam, Appalachia, and Pakistan for The New York Times, Atlantic Monthly, and The New Republic. His first book, The Big V, was nominated for the National Book Award and won him a National Endowment for the Arts fellowship.

Sommaire

Acknowledgments
A Note on Sources and Permissions
Introduction: What They Wrought
1920: The Fateful Year
A Precocious Dropout Forges His First Empire
A Quiet Student Becomes a First-Class Supplier
A New Machine Creates a New Order
Restless in Flint, Antsy in New York
The Dropout's Next Big Thing
Birth of a General
Shooting for the Stars
Down but Hardly Out
Beating the Odds with Chevrolet
A Boardroom Coup Like None Before or Since
The Founder's Grip Slips Again
A Last Good-Bye to the Baby
Alfred Pulls the Ranks Together
From Transformation to Domination
Epilogue: What's Good for General Motors
Chronology of Key Events
Notes
Selected Bibliography
Index
About the Author

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Caractéristiques techniques

	PAPIER
Éditeur(s)	Amacom
Auteur(s)	William Pelfrey
Collection	Business/Biography
Parution	15/05/2006
Nb. de pages	316
Format	15,5 x 23,5
Couverture	Relié
Poids	649g
Intérieur	Noir et Blanc
EAN13	9780814408698
ISBN13	978-0-8144-0869-8