Billy, Alfred, and General Motors: The Story of Two Unique Men, a Legendary Company, and a Remarkable Time in American History

As a designer, a student and teacher of transportation design history, I find this book a master piece and indispensable documentation of the early and formative years of the industry.As a designer, my knowledge and interest of the industry starts after 1926 when Mr.Earl entered the stage. Everything happened before that were rather sporadical to me (with the exception of Ford’s model T and mass production). This book connected all the dots for me and added the perspective I badly needed for the early days of the industry.The book is also well organized, authentic and very engaging to read. Just well done Mr. Pelfrey! Thank you!

I was looking for a biography of Alfred Sloan which does not seem to be available on Kindle, so I bought this instead. I am very pleased to have stumbled upon this easy reading gem. It is a fascinating story which necessarily covers much more than Sloan and Durant. The subject matter is gigantic and could never be exhaustively presented in such a relatively short, well edited, well researched book. Basically it whetted my appetite to learn more details of not only Sloan and Durant but also Ford, the duPont family, Chrysler, the Dodge brothers and others. I am distressed to see how far cities such as Detroit and Flint have fallen. I am amazed that Durant died almost anonymously and practically broke. I recommend this book to business students and people who are interested in American history in general but who do not want to wade through a dense academic tome. I will note that to some readers, the author might appear to be unsympathetic to labor. However, I feel that the author was simply presenting management's anti union positions.

I really enjoyed this book. The title is a little misleading because it suggests the book is only about Billy Durant and Alfred Sloan. Thankfully, this book goes into quite a bit of detail about most of the early automotive pioneers -- Buick, Olds, Ford, and Chrysler just to name a few. By discussing all of these characters the author is more able to reveal all of the risks and rewards of the early auto industry. Regarding the title characters, the book spends much more time on Durant than it does on Sloan but that's OK too since Durant is the one who really put G.M. together. Overall, the book was a very rewarding read.

Very impressive journalistic skills on the part of the author, well researched. The result of scouring memoires, minutes of meetings, company archives, and where records did not exist actually contacting board members still alive from that era. The author compares the dawning of the automobile era to the late dotcom era, and the similarities are striking. A time when new commercial ventures bring out maverick geniuses, creating and managing by intuition. Some were destined to win big, and the book shows how over time an enterprise matures and settles for leadership from financial and managerial professionals. This book provides a Who's Who of movers and shakers in the beginning of the 20th century, the Morgan's and the DuPont's seeking financial security and investment returns versus a host of entrepreneurs. This book tells the beginnings of what would later be common names across the U.S. Names such as Cadillac, Pontiac, Oldsmobile, Delco, and includes short biographies of Walter Chrysler, the Dodge Brothers and of course the famous ringleader, Billy Durant. Billy Durant was the man who conceived General Motors, later ousted by GM's Board of Directors during an economic downturn. Undaunted Billy Durant started Chevrolet and leveraged that corporation to win back control of GM only to lose it again to professional management teams. The book covers the time period when the different divisions of GM had different corporate cultures, and the philosophy of forming a vertical corporation was paramount.Many readers that work for large corporations will see practices and management initially formed by GM management has affected and been adopted by most every large corporation in the world. This book should be read by every Business major for the lessons it provides.

I didn't realize how today's automobile market was created by just a few men, and how closely they were related, especially in the second and third decades of the twentieth century. This book deals with more than "Billy, Alfred, and General Motors." It is quite informative about the development of the auto industry in the United States. I found this book very enjoyable and rewarding, partly because I grew up in Michigan, and my father taught in the Flint public school system for over thirty years. The subject matter of this book represents a significant part of American history. I recommend it.

The book covers the heady days of the early automotive business in america. The author captures many of the colorful personalities involved and the entrepreneurial spirit at that time . He gives great weight to an under celebrated hero of American automotive history; Billy durant. Though the book is extensively researched, it reads almost like a fictional story partly because the author is able to capture the excitement and characters of the day.

I am the owner of a Buick and GMC dealership in Charlotte, North Carolina. I am always looking to expand my knowledge on the history of the company that I have grown my business around. Every car guy thinks he knows it all when it comes to automotive history, but then books like this find their way into your hands. I found the author, William Pelfrey, to be very informative and on point with his portrayal of Billy and Alfred. I really enjoyed how everything was encapsulated to the time period. It made me feel as if I was actually living the life of the two men. I would strongly suggest this book for anyone remotely interested in automotive history.

Fun book.

Tells the story of the early days of the American auto industry.

loved it.excellent book

Well written, very informative