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

William Pelfrey (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 27, 2006

"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."

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Pelfrey's biography of the two founders of General Motors, Billy Durant and Alfred Sloan, evokes times when what was good for General Motors was good for America. Pelfrey, a journalist and author, makes the auto business in its early days sound like Silicon Valley: venture capital was plentiful and overnight fortunes flourished. Durant, a dynamic and colorful entrepreneur who made millions in buggy manufacturing before advancing to the newfangled automobile, has been largely forgotten. After dabbling in Wall Street and losing his fortune in speculation, Durant died in penury, supported by old GM partners while attempting to launch a bowling and fast food empire. Conversely, Sloan, the staid and reserved engineer who organized GM in the wake of Durant's enthusiasms, has won the ear of history. Though the attentive reader may suspect Pelfrey has sugarcoated history, his account of the nascent auto business is fascinating: Henry Ford, admired for streamlining and automating auto production, originally balked at manufacturing cars at all, and Cadillac, Buick and Oldsmobile all have surprising origins. Pelfrey's is an engrossing account of the fledgling days of the American auto industry; a bumpy, surprising and entertaining ride.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review

"Business Times (New Haven, CT): ""Through the lens of history at its most gripping, this book reveals why American business needs both intuitive, risk-taking Billys and logical, bottom-line conscious Alfreds.""

ForeWord: ""The author tells an amazing story, previously largely untold...this is an illuminating, yet little known saga of the clash between eternal dreamers, inventors, tinkerers, and salesmen at the dawn of the twentieth century."""

“This fresh look at early GM is timely and interesting.”

-Corp! (Detroit)

“Pelfrey's work is both entertaining and instructive...[the] book does not predict GM's future. But it masterfully tells about GM's past and, in doing so, helps explain what recently went wrong at the company.”

-Washington Post

“entertaining and instructive… masterfully tells about GM's past and... helps explain what recently went wrong at the company.”

-Washington Post

“…easy to read and extremely well researched.”

-World Business Review

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 17 and up
  
• Hardcover: 336 pages
• Publisher: AMACOM (March 27, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0814408699
• ISBN-13: 978-0814408698
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.3 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #373,156 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Lively look at the dueling leaders who launched GM, November 23, 2006

By 

Rolf Dobelli "getAbstract" (Switzerland) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Billy, Alfred, and General Motors: The Story of Two Unique Men, a Legendary Company, and a Remarkable Time in American History (Hardcover)

In this book you'll find eccentrics, misfits and geniuses who made and lost fortunes, founded and lost companies, gained brief fame and were eventually forgotten by just about everyone except automotive industry historians. Although the book purports to focus on Billy Durant, Alfred Sloan and General Motors, its scope is actually much wider, since the evolution of the automobile industry exemplifies the evolution of U.S. industries in general. We recommend this lively, readable saga to history buffs and managers. It is a highly instructive take on the parallels between boom and bust in the car industry of the 1910s and in the high-tech industry of the 1990s.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Right Men, The Right Place, The Right Time, July 10, 2006

By 

John Matlock "Gunny" (Winnemucca, NV) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Billy, Alfred, and General Motors: The Story of Two Unique Men, a Legendary Company, and a Remarkable Time in American History (Hardcover)

In a week when the Nissan-Renault partnership has made a suggestion of parterning with or buying out or merging with General Motors, this book makes a timely read.

Here is the story of the men who founded the company, Sloan and Durant. They were big dreamers, held a vision of the future, and seemed to have a basic understanding of where their company and the automobile industry was going.

I don't know who's in charge at GM now, but it appears that they aren't managing the company to the standard that such an icon of business should be held. Quite likely they are financial people, very knowledgable in making the company profitable this quarter (that's 'this quarter' a few years ago), but ignoring things like fuel efficiency to keep building SUVs (great profits for 'this quarter').

In their day Durant and Sloan managed through a whole series of problems. It's interesting to think about how they might have handled today's problems. The book presents a view of a time when perhaps management could make changes, when the company, the union, and the economy was different.

11 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Billy, Alfred, and General Motors, March 21, 2006

By 

Lance Haynes (San Diego, Ca.) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Billy, Alfred, and General Motors: The Story of Two Unique Men, a Legendary Company, and a Remarkable Time in American History (Hardcover)

This is a very fine book and very accurate accounting that went on back then. I have read all the other books on Mr. Durant and Sloans own book and find this a must read. This book also has 12 pages of great glossy pictures in it. Durant has been dead now for 59 years and they are still writing about him. One of the greatest automobile men to have lived and the most historic with him starting GM and Chevrolet. List price is 27.95 and now only $8.40 on Amozon.com. Brand new book just out here in 2006. Lance Haynes President Durant Motors Automobile Club San Diego, Ca.