The Model T: A Centennial History [Hardcover]

Robert H. Casey (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 2, 2008

"I will build a car for the great multitude. It will be large enough for the family, but small enough for the individual to run and take care of. It will be constructed of the best materials, by the best men to be hired, after the simplest designs that modern engineering can devise. But it will be so low in price that no man making a good salary will be unable to own one—and enjoy with his family the blessings of hours of pleasure in God’s great open spaces."—Henry Ford

First rolled out in 1908 with an $850 price tag, the Model T Ford was the nation’s first mass-produced, affordable, and versatile vehicle. It made Americans mobile as never before, spurred a revolution in manufacturing methods, and marked a sea change in automotive design and engineering.

Just in time for the centennial celebration of the Model T, Robert Casey captures the remarkable story of that car’s history and development and of its long-lasting impact on America. Here are the people who built the Model T and how, the folks who purchased it and why, and the profound technological leaps in mass production and mass consumption that we rightly associate with the Model T.

Casey discusses how the car was designed, built, sold, and driven, as well as how owners tinkered with it. He describes the experience of driving a Model T and explains how a few engineering innovations—a one-piece cylinder block with detachable cylinder head, a clever flexible suspension system, the use of lightweight vanadium alloy steel—led to the car’s reliability and popularity and spurred innovations across the motor vehicle industry.

Richly illustrated with archival photos from The Henry Ford—many never before published— The Model T is the definitive history of an iconographic piece of American technology.

Editorial Reviews

Review

In this commemorative volume, Ford Museum Curator Robert Casey describes how the Model T came to be, against the backdrop of transportation of the day. He features chapters on creating the Model T in concept, manufacturing it, selling it, and owning and driving it.

(History Wire 2008)

An extremely handsome, short, informative book about Henry Ford's great creation... A masterpiece.

(Richard Striner Weekly Standard 2008)

If one had to buy or read one book about the Model T, this should be the book, for its intelligent text and informative, enjoyable graphics.

(Choice 2009)

This gripping history is a fine pick for any library including transportation history books on the shelf.

(Midwest Book Review 2008)

If there is room on any bookshelf for just one work about Henry Ford's Model T, this is the book that belongs in that space.

(Technology and Culture 2009)

All credit to Robert Casey for a well balanced and enjoyable read.

(Gordan Nolan T Topics 2008)

Just in time for the centennial celebration of the Model T, Robert Casey captures the remarkable story of that car's history and development and of its long-lasting impact on America.

(Howard Gustavson Model T Times 2008)

The Model T: A Centennial History is that rare automotive book that will appeal to scholars and buffs alike.

(Rudi Volti Michigan Historical Review 2009)

Casey's The Model T is a concise and excellent read.

(Larry D. Lankton IA: The Journal of the Society for Industrial Archaeology 2011)

A short, well-written, lavishly illustrated, and elegant history... [Robert Casey] has met a great need and done it well.

(Tom McCarthy Michigan Historical Review 2011)

About the Author

Robert Casey is the John and Horace Dodge Curator of Transportation at The Henry Ford. He has written widely about technology and industry for academic journals and popular media.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Hardcover: 168 pages
• Publisher: The Johns Hopkins University Press (July 2, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0801888506
• ISBN-13: 978-0801888502
• Product Dimensions: 10.3 x 7.3 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #439,504 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Book, July 23, 2008

By 

Don L (South Lyon, MI) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: The Model T: A Centennial History (Hardcover)

This is a very good book that will appeal to a broad audience. Robert Casey has written as much about the cultural aspects of America's entrance into the motor age as the vehicle that started it. There is also plenty to hold the fascination of the technically minded with Casey's discussion being accentuated with many charts and pictures of the inner workings of the Ford Model T. The chapter on "Manufacturing the T" is nicely illustrated and gives an enlightened explanation of the evolution of the world's first assembly line. The chapter on "Selling the T" provides some very interesting background on the people that helped create the phenomenon of the T's success.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars WELL DONE AND VERY INFORMATIVE - A PLEASURE TO READ., June 26, 2009

By 

D. Blankenship (The Ozarks) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Model T: A Centennial History (Hardcover)

For a smallish book, only 148 pages, including a very nice index and bibliography, there is an amazing amount of information in this "mini-coffee table book." This work traces the Model T Ford, arguably the most famous automobile ever built in this country, from conception to reality and beyond. Using dozens upon dozens of photographs, colored prints and nicely done schematic drawings of the inner workings of the famous care and adding a well written, readable and comprehensive text, the author has given us a very good overview of not only the car, but of the thoughts and inner workings of the Ford Motor Company, and indeed, the American public during this important era in our history.

The number and quality of black and white photograph, some published for the first time in this small volume, are worth the price of the book alone. I found that the photos of the inside of the early manufacturing plant almost as fascinating as the many photographs of the car itself. The reproductions of early advertizing are absolutely priceless. The thought process of the various selling campaigns does address Henry's resistance to change, not only in his product but in his marketing of his little car. This little side-bar is a gem within itself.

I was pleased that the author included the names of the many men who contributed to the success of this auto that changed America forever. So often in works such as this it is Ford, Ford, Ford and nothing but Henry. I was also pleased that the author did not delve too deeply into the politics of Mr. Ford and did not address his many attempts in the field of social engineering. No, this book is about the car; the Model T. There are many, many very good biographies on Henry Ford out there and the interested individual should certainly seek them out. I will say that reading any of these fine works will be greatly enhanced by simultaneously prowling through this offering being reviewed. I know of no biography that has offered the wide range of photographs as this work.

As has been so well pointed out by other reviewers here, this book has something in it for every one. I feel it is a must read for the automobile enthusiast and certainly is of great interested to those who delight in this particular car. Now I am not a "car person," but I do love history and to truly know the history of our country, an interested person must understand the impact that Henry Ford and his Model T had. This little book of course is not the beginning and end of books on this subject, but it is certainly a nice introduction to the subject and belongs on the shelf of any one interested in this car and/or American history. As I said before, the pictures alone are worth the price of the book.

This book is well worth the short time it takes to read. An amazing amount of knowledge, facts, figures and little know bits are presented in a very digestible format. Recommend this one highly.

Don Blankenship
The Ozarks

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must for true car lovers, August 13, 2008

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Model T: A Centennial History (Hardcover)

Eight hundred fifty dollars for a car seems cheap now, but it was only just within the grasp of the everyday man in 1908. "The Model T: A Centennial History" is a celebration of the hundredth birthday of the first affordable automobile, marking an era when America would gain mobility like never before. An in-depth history of the vehicle describing why the science of its design worked for America, "The Model T" is enhanced with countless black and white photos, some of which have never before been published. A must for true car lovers.