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The Resource The vagabonds : the story of Henry Ford and Thomas Edison's ten-year road trip, Jeff Guinn

The vagabonds : the story of Henry Ford and Thomas Edison's ten-year road trip, Jeff Guinn

Creator
Author
Summary
  • "A brilliant portrait of two American giants, Thomas Edison and Henry Ford, and America entering the automobile age, told through the fascinating but little-known narrative of the summer road trips taken by Edison and Ford"--
  • The fascinating story of two American giants--Henry Ford and Thomas Edison--whose annual summer sojourns introduced the road trip to our culture and made the automobile an essential part of modern life, even as their own relationship altered dramatically. In 1914 Henry Ford and naturalist John Burroughs visited Thomas Edison in Florida and toured the Everglades. The following year Ford, Edison, and tire maker Harvey Firestone joined together on a summer camping trip and decided to call themselves the Vagabonds. They would continue their summer road trips until 1925, when they announced that their fame made it too difficult for them to carry on. Although the Vagabonds traveled with an entourage of chefs, butlers, and others, this elite fraternity also had a serious purpose: to examine the conditions of America's roadways and improve the practicality of automobile travel. Cars were unreliable and the roads were even worse. But newspaper coverage of these trips was extensive, and as cars and roads improved, the summer trip by automobile soon became a desired element of American life. In The Vagabonds Jeff Guinn shares the story of this pivotal moment in American history. But he also examines the important relationship between the older Edison and the younger Ford, who once worked for the famous inventor. The road trips made the automobile ubiquitous and magnified Ford's reputation, even as Edison's diminished. The automobile had come of age and it would transform the American landscape, the American economy, and the American way of life. Guinn brings to life this seminal moment when a new industry created a watershed cultural shift and a famous businessman became a prominent political figure. The Vagabonds is a wonderful story of two American giants and the transformation of the country
  • In 1914 Henry Ford and naturalist John Burroughs visited Thomas Edison in Florida and toured the Everglades. The following year Ford, Edison, and tire maker Harvey Firestone joined together on a summer camping trip and decided to call themselves the Vagabonds. They continues the summer road trips until 1925, when they announced that their fame made it too difficult for them to carry on. Although the Vagabonds traveled with an entourage of chefs, butlers, and others, they also had a serious purpose: to examine the conditions of America's roadways and improve the practicality of automobile travel. Guinn shares the story of these pivotal moments in American history, and shows how the trips made the automobile ubiquitous and magnified Ford's reputation, even as Edison's diminished. -- adapted from jacket
Language
eng
Work
Publication
Edition
First Simon & Schuster hardcover edition.
Extent
306 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates
Contents
  • Prologue: Paris, Michigan : mid-August 1923
  • 1914
  • 1915
  • 1916
  • 1918
  • 1919
  • 1920
  • 1921
  • Interim: November 1921-June 1923
  • 1923
  • 1924
  • Jep Bisbee is famous
Isbn
9781501159305
Instance
Label
The vagabonds : the story of Henry Ford and Thomas Edison's ten-year road trip
Title
The vagabonds
Title remainder
the story of Henry Ford and Thomas Edison's ten-year road trip
Statement of responsibility
Jeff Guinn
Creator
Author
Subject
Genre
Language
eng
Summary
  • "A brilliant portrait of two American giants, Thomas Edison and Henry Ford, and America entering the automobile age, told through the fascinating but little-known narrative of the summer road trips taken by Edison and Ford"--
  • The fascinating story of two American giants--Henry Ford and Thomas Edison--whose annual summer sojourns introduced the road trip to our culture and made the automobile an essential part of modern life, even as their own relationship altered dramatically. In 1914 Henry Ford and naturalist John Burroughs visited Thomas Edison in Florida and toured the Everglades. The following year Ford, Edison, and tire maker Harvey Firestone joined together on a summer camping trip and decided to call themselves the Vagabonds. They would continue their summer road trips until 1925, when they announced that their fame made it too difficult for them to carry on. Although the Vagabonds traveled with an entourage of chefs, butlers, and others, this elite fraternity also had a serious purpose: to examine the conditions of America's roadways and improve the practicality of automobile travel. Cars were unreliable and the roads were even worse. But newspaper coverage of these trips was extensive, and as cars and roads improved, the summer trip by automobile soon became a desired element of American life. In The Vagabonds Jeff Guinn shares the story of this pivotal moment in American history. But he also examines the important relationship between the older Edison and the younger Ford, who once worked for the famous inventor. The road trips made the automobile ubiquitous and magnified Ford's reputation, even as Edison's diminished. The automobile had come of age and it would transform the American landscape, the American economy, and the American way of life. Guinn brings to life this seminal moment when a new industry created a watershed cultural shift and a famous businessman became a prominent political figure. The Vagabonds is a wonderful story of two American giants and the transformation of the country
  • In 1914 Henry Ford and naturalist John Burroughs visited Thomas Edison in Florida and toured the Everglades. The following year Ford, Edison, and tire maker Harvey Firestone joined together on a summer camping trip and decided to call themselves the Vagabonds. They continues the summer road trips until 1925, when they announced that their fame made it too difficult for them to carry on. Although the Vagabonds traveled with an entourage of chefs, butlers, and others, they also had a serious purpose: to examine the conditions of America's roadways and improve the practicality of automobile travel. Guinn shares the story of these pivotal moments in American history, and shows how the trips made the automobile ubiquitous and magnified Ford's reputation, even as Edison's diminished. -- adapted from jacket
Assigning source
Provided by publisher
Biography type
collective biography
Cataloging source
LBSOR/DLC
http://library.link/vocab/creatorName
Guinn, Jeff
Dewey number
917.304/9130922
Illustrations
  • illustrations
  • plates
Index
index present
Literary form
non fiction
Nature of contents
bibliography
http://library.link/vocab/subjectName
  • Ford, Henry
  • Edison, Thomas A.
  • Automobile engineers
  • Businessmen
  • Inventors
  • Automobile travel
  • Vacations
  • United States
  • TRANSPORTATION
  • Edison, Thomas A.
  • Ford, Henry
  • Automobile engineers
  • Automobile travel
  • Businessmen
  • Inventors
  • Travel
  • Vacations
  • United States
  • Automobile engineers
  • Businessmen
  • Inventors
  • Automobile travel
  • United States
Label
The vagabonds : the story of Henry Ford and Thomas Edison's ten-year road trip, Jeff Guinn
Instantiates
Publication
Copyright
Bibliography note
Includes bibliographical references (pages 277-288) and index
Contents
Prologue: Paris, Michigan : mid-August 1923 -- 1914 -- 1915 -- 1916 -- 1918 -- 1919 -- 1920 -- 1921 -- Interim: November 1921-June 1923 -- 1923 -- 1924 -- Jep Bisbee is famous
Control code
on1056741043
Dimensions
23 cm.
Edition
First Simon & Schuster hardcover edition.
Extent
306 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates
Isbn
9781501159305
Lccn
2018053698
Other control number
40029275574
Other physical details
illustrations
System control number
(OCoLC)1056741043
Label
The vagabonds : the story of Henry Ford and Thomas Edison's ten-year road trip, Jeff Guinn
Publication
Copyright
Bibliography note
Includes bibliographical references (pages 277-288) and index
Contents
Prologue: Paris, Michigan : mid-August 1923 -- 1914 -- 1915 -- 1916 -- 1918 -- 1919 -- 1920 -- 1921 -- Interim: November 1921-June 1923 -- 1923 -- 1924 -- Jep Bisbee is famous
Control code
on1056741043
Dimensions
23 cm.
Edition
First Simon & Schuster hardcover edition.
Extent
306 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates
Isbn
9781501159305
Lccn
2018053698
Other control number
40029275574
Other physical details
illustrations
System control number
(OCoLC)1056741043

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