[.ca] Chrysler: The Life and Times of an Automotive Genius (ISBN 0195147057)

From Amazon.com:
It takes a while to get used to Vincent Curcio's highly colored prose, but his old-fashioned narrative technique suits his subject, the Kansas railroad mechanic who rose to become head of America's most dynamic car company. Born in 1875, Walter P. Chrysler came late to the automobile business, joining Buick in 1912, when the early companies were firmly established. Chrysler made his mark by being a great leader who thoroughly understood engineering and production, and who valued the contributions of his employees and directed them to produce high-quality, popularly priced cars. He made it his business to ignore conventional wisdom: he headquartered his company in New York instead of Detroit, commissioned a fabulous art deco skyscraper to house it, and introduced the first mass-produced, streamlined, aerodynamic car in 1934. The Airflow was a financial disaster but hugely influential on future design, and the well-managed Chrysler Corporation made money even during the Great Depression. Chrysler himself became enormously wealthy and enjoyed a lavish lifestyle during the decade before his death in 1940. Curcio's detailed, wide-ranging text offers an instructive history of the automobile industry as well as a full-bodied portrait of a classic American individual, praised by his peers as "one of the world's greatest manufacturers and one of the world's best men." --Wendy Smith

interesting times:
i really enjoyed this book, in fact, once i got into it i could not put it down. it does not just deal with the life of chrysler, which is a fascinating one, but an extraordinary period of american history. i would recommend this work not just to those interested in the industrial or automotive scene, but also to those interested in the era. definately 5 stars!

The other great one:
Having read extensively in the past about both Ford Motor Company and General Motors, I was very interested in getting to know the other member of the "Big Three" (sadly, today we can only talk about the remaining two after Chrysler's incompetent Bob Eaton surrendered the company to Daimler Benz). Although the book is centered in Walter P. Chrysler the author finds it hard not to get carried away by much more imposing personalities in the early automotive business, mainly Henry Ford and William C. Durant (founder of GM). They are mentioned 52 and 53 times respectively. Both Ford and Durant are much more interesting personalities than Chrysler himself and if not for anything else, the book is worth the read just to get to know Mr. Durant. The reason he is much less known today than his other two competitors is that he resisted the temptation to change General Motors name to Durant Motors (he could have done it but decided the GM trademark was too valuable), later in his life he did found a company called Durant Motors but it didn't survive long. If there is an epic to be told about the automotive industry in the USA it is Durant's: he founded General Motors, was ousted from the company, founded Chevrolet, bought his way back to GM control, was ousted again, founded Durant Motors, lost everything after the crash of 1929 and if not for the monetary help his friends (including Walter Chrysler) gave him at the end of his life he would have lived his last days in abject poverty. Walter Chrysler actually made his reputation and original fortune working for William Durant at General Motors' Buick division and after he quit the corporation eventually assembled the Chrysler Corporation (mainly from Maxwell Motors and the Dodge Brothers enterprises). It was a great accomplishment in itself as he started very late (too late thought many) to matter much, and yet he climbed to the third place in sales and eventually to the second place (outranking Ford Motor from 1936 to 1951). Sure, GM (through Alfred Sloan leadership) outclassed both of them and by such a wide margin that (until very recent times) there was absolutely no comparison between the leader and the other two. An interesting fact mentioned in the book is that the Chrysler Building at New York was NOT built by the Chrysler Corporation, but by Walter Chrysler himself so he could give it to his children. At the time it was completed, it was the tallest building in the world. The scope of Curcio's book is very wide and you end learning many things from the first years of automotive history. In other words, it is much more than Walter Chrysler's biography. I fully recommend it.

Highly Recommended!:
Stop whatever you're doing. Take a week off from work and read this book! Rarely is a massive biography a pleasure to read. Usually, even the most critically acclaimed biographies are long on tedious detail and short on page-turning storytelling and exquisite style. Vincent Curcio's biography of automotive pioneer Walter Chrysler is the exception to all these norms. Fascinating, impeccably written and completely engrossing, this sweeping tale is more than just a biography. True to its title, it is also a panoramic view of Walter Chrysler's times. Don't be put off by the length, even though index and all, it is 699 pages long. Even if you don't think you're interested in the automotive industry, read this book anyway. We \o...\c join the ranks of critics and industry insiders who've praised it and promises you will not be able to put it down.

Automotive History:
A great book! The author is big on automotive history, so you will know more about the industry and the people that formed it. Walter Chrysler just seems to be the man he tells the story around. I have found interest in other people from this time frame to read about too from this book.

A Man and His Times: Engaging Narrative, Some Mistakes.:
Chrysler : The Life and Times of an Automotive Genius is an entertaining, engaging biography of a man and his times. So much more than a dry biography of one of the major figures of the automotive industry, this book by Vincent Curcio provides fascinating insight into American industrial life in the late 19th and early 20th century. Walter Chrysler was the quintessential "working man," a railroad (and later automobile industry) mechanic by trade who first mastered himself, then proceeded to lead others in the burgeoning automobile industry. His early years in the railroad industry and his transition from mechanic to leader are nicely chronicled along with the development of American transportation history. Mr. Curcio lucidly explains the evolution of modern manufacturing and the integral parts played by seemingly (taken on their own) inconsequential methods and practices. While not as well known as a man (although the car and skyscraper are certainly famous), Chrysler embodied the American entrepreneurial spirit as deeply as any other leader of the auto industry. He was willing to take unusual risks, some resulting in relative failure (the Airflow), but all transforming the nature of the industry. He was not an early pioneer, first joining Buick in 1912. However, he completely understood design, engineering and manufacturing techniques. Perhaps more importantly, his ego was of a different mold. He was not afraid to accept the ideas or contributions of his employees. Chrysler made decisions perceived as unusual. For example, he built the graceful, elegant art-deco Chrysler Building, headquartering the company in New York at a time, its silhouette dominating the skyline of yesteryear. He experimented with unconventional auto designs, unafraid to introduce concepts into full production. Yet for all of this, Chrysler remained an enigma, certainly less famous than Ford or GM's myriad of leaders. Mr. Curcio writes in a unique style, reminiscent of biographies penned in the early 20th century. His prose is fluid, yet the use of oft-archaic language transports the reader into a different era. The book is a real pleasure and there are a number of photographs inspersed throughout the text. HOWEVER, the primary problem with the book is the lack of proper editing and documentation of research in the later chapters. For example, there are numerous typographical errors and poorly constructed sentences. The last few chapters detract from an otherwise fine narrative. One glaring inconsistency is a mention of Chrysler's conversation with Wilbur Wright in Dayton Ohio when he was developing the Chrysler Airflow. That conversation must have been "via seance" as Wilbur Wright died in 1912. Even with the above, I'd recommend the book from the standpoint of biography as well as overall automotive history (as well as industrial history in general).