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

• Hardcover: 336 pages
• Publisher: AMACOM; First Edition edition (March 27, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0814408699
• ISBN-13: 978-0814408698
• Product Dimensions: 6.5 x 1.3 x 9.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #350,424 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 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 HALL OF FAMETOP 1000 REVIEWER

Format: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.

13 of 16 people found the following review helpful

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

By Lance Haynes

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

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.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A Good Book about GM is a Good Book about America February 4, 2010

By J. head

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

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.