Billy Durant

by Gustin, Lawrence R.

• ISBN13: 9780472033027
• ISBN10: 0472033026
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2008-04-15
• Publisher: Univ of Michigan Pr

Summary

The story of the flamboyant genius who helped lead America into the automobile age Praise for the first edition: "A fascinating book [and] a sympathetic look at the man who glued General Motors together and in the process made Flint one of the great industrial centers of America." ---Detroit Free Press "It is refreshing to report thatBilly Durantis one of the best researched books dealing with an automotive giant." ---Antique Automobile "Billy Durantfills in a masterly way the only important void remaining concerning the work of the motorcar pioneers." ---Richard Crabb, author ofBirth of a Giant: The Men and Incidents That Gave America the Motorcar What explains Billy Durant's powerful influence on the auto industry during its early days? And why, given Durant's impact, has he been nearly forgotten for decades? In search of answers to these questions, Lawrence Gustin interviewed Durant's widow, who provided a wealth of previously unpublished autobiographical notes, letters, and personal papers. Gustin also interviewed two of Durant's personal secretaries and others who had known and worked with the man who created General Motors. The result is the amazing account of the mastermind behind what would become, as the twentieth century progressed, the world's largest company.

Table of Contents

Update	p. 7
Foreword	p. 9
Prologue	p. 14
The Road Cart	p. 17
King of the Carriage Makers	p. 26
The Horseless Carriage Comes to Flint	p. 49
Buick: Rags to Riches	p. 67
"I Must Have a Consolidation"	p. 97
"Never Mind, We're Still Running"	p. 111
The Bankers Take Over	p. 133
Durant's "New Baby"-Chevrolet	p. 145
"I Took General Motors Back from the Bankers Today"	p. 164
Durant's Rule-and Another Collapse	p. 181
A Last Empire Created and Lost	p. 223
Epilogue	p. 262
Chapter Notes and Bibliography	p. 280
Index	p. 292
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