A biography of Thomas Edison was written on commission by Henry Ford,
who once worked in Edison's lab.  I am looking for the author and
title of that book.

I heard about it at a talk given by H. Stephen Glenn, a psychologist
who specializes in educational training workshops and who wrote
"Raising Self-Reliant Children in a Self-Indulgent World."  Dr. Glenn
was unable to give me author-and-title information when I spoke to him
after the talk.  I have looked over Glenn's website and have searched
on Edison and Ford biographies ("Edison biography commissioned Henry
Ford"), but can't seem to narrow the search enough to get to the one
Ford-commissioned biography of Edison that Glenn talked about.  He
said he found it especially inspiring for its quality of language.  So
it is a pointer to the specific book and not just any biography of
Edison that I am looking for.

Thank you.

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Request for Question Clarification by pinkfreud-ga on 29 Sep 2002 01:36 PDT

Are you certain that the book was "written on commission" rather than
"written in collaboration" by Ford with another author?

Henry Ford and a co-writer collaborated on a memoir about Ford's long
friendship with Edison. Dr. Glenn's remark that he found the biography
inspiring would certainly fit this book. My late grandfather, an
entrepreneurial soul who was a bush pilot in Canada many years ago,
used to quote Ford's bio of Edison, saying that it had greatly
influenced his business philosophy.

---

Clarification of Question by apteryx-ga on 29 Sep 2002 02:07 PDT

Am I certain that the book was commissioned by Ford?  No.  Am I
certain that Dr. Glenn said so?  Yes.  My confidence in my extensive
notes is high.  After the talk, when I went up and spoke to him, I
asked for this information, and he said again, "commissioned by Henry
Ford," and I wrote those words down.  So your question really asks me
if I am certain that what he told me is true, and of course I am not;
I can't certify someone else's accuracy without independent
verification.

However, it sounds as if the book you have in mind probably is what I
am looking for.  If you can provide enough information for me to
locate it, and it checks out, I'll consider the question answered. 
Your note about your grandfather is good support.

I believe the book you are looking for is "Edison as I Knew Him." It
was written by Henry Ford in collaboration with Samuel Crowther, and
was published in New York by the Cosmopolitan Book Corporation in
1930.

When Dr. Glenn said the book was commissioned by Ford, he may have
meant that Ford essentially used Samuel Crowther as a "ghost writer,"
which was a common practice then, as now.

I have also found references on the Web which use the title "Edison as
I Know Him." Since Edison was still living at the time of the book's
publication, this could be the correct title. However, the only used
copy I could find available uses "Knew." The book, long out of print,
may be purchased here for $29.95:

Alibris: "Edison as I Knew Him"
http://www.alibris.com/search/search.cfm?qtit=Edison%20as%20I%20Knew%20Him&qauth=Ford%2CHenry

Henry Ford also collaborated with Samuel Crowther on three other
books, "My Life and Work" (1923), "Today and Tomorrow" (1926), and
"Moving Forward" (1931).

My Google search strategy:

"henry ford" + "edison as I know him"
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=%22henry+ford%22+%22edison+as+I+know+him%22

"henry ford" + "edison as I knew him"
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=%22henry+ford%22+%22edison+as+I+knew+him

I hope this is the book you seek. If it is not, please request
clarification before rating my answer, and I will do my best to resume
the search for you.

Best wishes,
pinkfreud

---

Clarification of Answer by pinkfreud-ga on 29 Sep 2002 18:21 PDT

Thank you very much for the five-star rating.

I, too, wonder why this book went out of print. I would think that a
look into the minds and methods of innovative businessmen of times
past could benefit today's techies, whose silicon dreams may be the
lightbulbs and "Tin Lizzies" of tomorrow, but who may lack the
foresight and business acumen of men such as Edison and Ford.

~pinkfreud

I think you have found the very book.  Thank you.  I'm ordering.

I also appreciated your additional background information, which will
help me place the book in its proper context when I read it.

One wonders why such things go out of print.  No doubt I'll find that
the language is pitched a little high for today's easily embarrassed
readers and that the text does not use a controlled vocabulary
approved by some body of reading experts who've forgotten that
stretching to something above their level is what makes better readers
and that mastery of a challenge, and not being spared exposure to one,
is how people gain in self-esteem.

FORD, Henry with Crowther, and Samuel My Friend Mr. Edison
London Ernest Benn 1930. Hardbound, Illustrated, sunned spine, still
in GOOD+ condition. First Edition. Bookseller Inventory # 005059
Price: US$ 18.72 convert currency
Presented by D&D Galleries - UK, Iver, Buckinghamshire, UK, United
Kingdom (SEARCH THIS SELLERS

BTW, that (and 2 others) were thrown up by ABE.COM, after searching
for Crowther (as author) and Edison (as title).