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

Outstanding book. One doesn't have to be an automotive buff to enjoy this read.

It's also a good look into the early 20th century in general, and our industrial history as well. This isn't the only book to do so of course, but it's very interesting to watch as the now household names of Buick, Cadillac, Oldsmobile et al come in to existence. First as independents, then as General Motors.

The only draw back, and I rarely critique the narrator, but this reader's technique for quoting someone was to read in a false voice as if he were trying to sound like someone's grandmother - and doing a poor job of it no less. It was the same weird grandmother-like voice no matter who he was quoting.

Unless you really want to learn about the automotive industry in America, I would recommend something else, like Crash Course by Paul Ingrassia or The Yugo by Jason Vuic. They are much more entertaining than this GM title.

That being said, there are many points to highlight about GM, such as they were the first company to setup pensions for their workers, prior to 401k and Social Security. They also established their own financing division, GMAC and their own automotive trade school and and was a major contributor to the war, but the information that is presented is just dry.

GM is probably the greatest industrial company in history, but the information is this book is just bland. You really have to like GM to get through this book. It's a very informative read, but I think it is written "as is" as history tells it without any drama or plot.

I really liked this book about the history of not only one of the most significant companys in history but the lives of these two key players.

Not only did we get the history of GM but the history of the motor car in the American incarnation. It is a historical story, really well read, I really like the soft reading when quoting actual characters, and it kept moving.

An enriching experience.

Yes, to the author; NO to the narrator.

Interesting story about the formation of the auto industry, and GM in particular. Good character studies of the principles; Durant, Sloan, and Henry Ford.

The main negative is with the narrator who had a very strange quirk that I have never heard any other narrator do as a long-time Audible listener. Whenever he read a direct quote, he lowered his voice an octave and delivered the quote in a shy, quiet way... as if he were delivering a secret that he didn't want anyone to overhear except the listener. There was absolutely no need to do this - the narrative made it very clear that it was a quote - and why the narrator felt he had to significantly alter his delivery is a complete mystery. The reason this was a big problem is I listen in my car, and I continually had to crank up the volume every time he read a quote. It was VERY ANNOYING... and for absolutely no reason.

I would have forced the narrator to deliver the story consistently, rather than lowering his voice every time he came to a quote.

The is an excellent history of the automobile industry and the evolution of the modern corportation as told throught the lives of two very different men.

The Flint-Detroit area must have been incredible back in the day when it was bustling with such inventive characters and energy. It was the Silicon Valley of its time. Buick, Chrysler, Ford and their contemporaries were as eccentric and diverse a bunch as one could imagine. One gets a sense of this age, when modern industries and amazing products were leaping onto the American stage, revolutionizing life. In the Alfred Sloane phase, we see too a different phase of American history unfold, as America's industrial giants assumed titanic proportions and management styles to fit. From a fan of good business history, this book is a well-blended mix of the lives (with all victories, quirks, foibles on display) , the finances, and the technologies, I found utterly listenable.

I wouldn't listen to it again, but I enjoyed listening to it.

Fascinating to hear about the eccentric characters and the early history of companies that are household names.

Writing engaging business history can be very difficult, especially when it does not relate to recent crises. Pelfry does a wonderful job, and is helped by a colorful set of characters and a wily industry so different from the staid auto industry we have today.

More than a discourse on GMC, it is an excellent treatise on the birth and early development of the US auto industry.