American Journey: On the Road with Henry Ford, Thomas Edison, and John Burroughs

American Journey: On the Road with Henry Ford, Thomas Edison, and John Burroughs PDF Author: Wes Davis
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
ISBN: 1324000333
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 217

Get Book

Book Description
The epic road trips—and surprising friendship—of John Burroughs, nineteenth-century naturalist, and Henry Ford and Thomas Edison, inventors of the modern age. In 1913, an unlikely friendship blossomed between Henry Ford and famed naturalist John Burroughs. When their mutual interest in Ralph Waldo Emerson led them to set out in one of Ford’s Model Ts to explore the Transcendentalist’s New England, the trip would prove to be the first of many excursions that would take Ford and Burroughs, together with an enthusiastic Thomas Edison, across America. Their road trips—increasingly ambitious in scope—transported members of the group to the 1915 Panama–Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco, the Adirondacks of New York, and the Green Mountains of Vermont, finally paving the way for a grand 1918 expedition through southern Appalachia. In many ways, their timing could not have been worse. With war raging in Europe and an influenza pandemic that had already claimed thousands of lives abroad beginning to plague the United States, it was an inopportune moment for travel. Nevertheless, each of the men who embarked on the 1918 journey would subsequently point to it as the most memorable vacation of their lives. These travels profoundly influenced the way Ford, Edison, and Burroughs viewed the world, nudging their work in new directions through a transformative decade in American history. In American Journey, Wes Davis re-creates these landmark adventures, through which one of the great naturalists of the nineteenth century helped the men who invented the modern age reconnect with the natural world—and reimagine the world they were creating.

American Journey: On the Road with Henry Ford, Thomas Edison, and John Burroughs

American Journey: On the Road with Henry Ford, Thomas Edison, and John Burroughs PDF Author: Wes Davis
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
ISBN: 1324000333
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 217

Get Book

Book Description
The epic road trips—and surprising friendship—of John Burroughs, nineteenth-century naturalist, and Henry Ford and Thomas Edison, inventors of the modern age. In 1913, an unlikely friendship blossomed between Henry Ford and famed naturalist John Burroughs. When their mutual interest in Ralph Waldo Emerson led them to set out in one of Ford’s Model Ts to explore the Transcendentalist’s New England, the trip would prove to be the first of many excursions that would take Ford and Burroughs, together with an enthusiastic Thomas Edison, across America. Their road trips—increasingly ambitious in scope—transported members of the group to the 1915 Panama–Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco, the Adirondacks of New York, and the Green Mountains of Vermont, finally paving the way for a grand 1918 expedition through southern Appalachia. In many ways, their timing could not have been worse. With war raging in Europe and an influenza pandemic that had already claimed thousands of lives abroad beginning to plague the United States, it was an inopportune moment for travel. Nevertheless, each of the men who embarked on the 1918 journey would subsequently point to it as the most memorable vacation of their lives. These travels profoundly influenced the way Ford, Edison, and Burroughs viewed the world, nudging their work in new directions through a transformative decade in American history. In American Journey, Wes Davis re-creates these landmark adventures, through which one of the great naturalists of the nineteenth century helped the men who invented the modern age reconnect with the natural world—and reimagine the world they were creating.

The Vagabonds

The Vagabonds PDF Author: Jeff Guinn
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
ISBN: 1501159313
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 320

Get Book

Book Description
A “fascinating slice of rarely considered American history” (Booklist)—the story of Henry Ford and Thomas Edison—whose annual summer sojourns introduced the road trip to our culture and made the automobile an essential part of modern life. In 1914 Henry Ford and naturalist John Burroughs visited Thomas Edison in Florida and toured the Everglades. The following year Ford, Edison, and tire maker Harvey Firestone joined together on a summer camping trip and decided to call themselves the Vagabonds. They would continue their summer road trips until 1925, when they announced that their fame made it too difficult for them to carry on. Although the Vagabonds traveled with an entourage of chefs, butlers, and others, this elite fraternity also had a serious purpose: to examine the conditions of America’s roadways and improve the practicality of automobile travel. Cars were unreliable and the roads were even worse. But newspaper coverage of these trips was extensive, and as cars and roads improved, the summer trip by automobile soon became a desired element of American life. The Vagabonds is “a portrait of America’s burgeoning love affair with the automobile” (NPR) but it also sheds light on the important relationship between the older Edison and the younger Ford, who once worked for the famous inventor. The road trips made the automobile ubiquitous and magnified Ford’s reputation, even as Edison’s diminished. The automobile would transform the American landscape, the American economy, and the American way of life and Guinn brings this seminal moment in history to vivid life.

The Vagabonds

The Vagabonds PDF Author: Jeff Guinn
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
ISBN: 1501159305
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 320

Get Book

Book Description
The fascinating story of two American giants—Henry Ford and Thomas Edison—whose annual summer sojourns introduced the road trip to our culture and made the automobile an essential part of modern life, even as their own relationship altered dramatically. In 1914 Henry Ford and naturalist John Burroughs visited Thomas Edison in Florida and toured the Everglades. The following year Ford, Edison, and tire maker Harvey Firestone joined together on a summer camping trip and decided to call themselves the Vagabonds. They would continue their summer road trips until 1925, when they announced that their fame made it too difficult for them to carry on. Although the Vagabonds traveled with an entourage of chefs, butlers, and others, this elite fraternity also had a serious purpose: to examine the conditions of America’s roadways and improve the practicality of automobile travel. Cars were unreliable and the roads were even worse. But newspaper coverage of these trips was extensive, and as cars and roads improved, the summer trip by automobile soon became a desired element of American life. In The Vagabonds Jeff Guinn shares the story of this pivotal moment in American history. But he also examines the important relationship between the older Edison and the younger Ford, who once worked for the famous inventor. The road trips made the automobile ubiquitous and magnified Ford’s reputation, even as Edison’s diminished. The automobile had come of age and it would transform the American landscape, the American economy, and the American way of life. Guinn brings to life this seminal moment when a new industry created a watershed cultural shift and a famous businessman became a prominent political figure. The Vagabonds is a wonderful story of two American giants and the transformation of the country.

Wheels for the World

Wheels for the World PDF Author: Douglas Brinkley
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781437965506
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 858

Get Book

Book Description
The saga of how Henry Ford and Ford Motor Co. changed our world. Reveals the details of Ford¿s achievements, from the success of the Tin Lizzie to the Model A and V-8, through the Thunderbird, Mustang, and Taurus. Innovators include: Thomas Edison, Alfred Sloan, the Wright Bros., Diego Rivera, and Charles Lindbergh. Discusses 3 factories: Highland Park, River Rouge, and Willow Run, where B-24 airplanes were mass-produced during WW2. Tells of Ford¿s expansion throughout the world, as well as the acquisitions of Volvo, Land Rover, Jaguar, and Mazda. Explores Ford¿s darker aspects, incl. its founder¿s anti-Semitism and wartime pacifism. Introduces us to: James Couzens, Lee Iocacco and William Clay Ford Jr. Photos.

Joseph Conrad and the Adventure Tradition

Joseph Conrad and the Adventure Tradition PDF Author: Andrea White
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 052141606X
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 247

Get Book

Book Description
Nineteenth-century adventure fiction relating to the British empire usually served to promote, celebrate and justify the imperial project, asserting the essential and privileging difference between 'us' and 'them', colonizing and colonized. Andrea White's study opens with an examination of popular exploration literature in relation to later adventure stories, showing how a shared view of the white man in the tropics authorized the European intrusion into other lands. She then sets the fiction of Joseph Conrad in this context, showing how Conrad in fact demythologized and disrupted the imperial subject constructed in earlier writing, by simultaneously - with the modernist's double vision - admiring man's capacity to dream but applauding the desire to condemn many of its consequences. She argues that the very complexity of Conrad's work provided an alternative, and more critical, means of evaluating the experience of empire.

Thomas and the Tinners

Thomas and the Tinners PDF Author: Jill Paton Walsh
Publisher: Wayland
ISBN: 0750270721
Category : Juvenile Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 51

Get Book

Book Description
The miner's work is hard-they need pasties to keep them going. When Thomas shares his pasty with a small miner, he is rewarded with a wish. But soon, more miners appear and Thomas regrets his kindness-until he faces an even bigger problem...

Road Trip!

Road Trip! PDF Author: Claudia Friddell
Publisher: Astra Publishing House
ISBN: 1684372720
Category : Juvenile Nonfiction
Languages : en
Pages : 43

Get Book

Book Description
Join Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, Harvey Firestone, and John Burroughs on their pioneering camping trips during the early 1900s in this energetic and entertaining nonfiction picture-book adventure. After years of inventing things that other people needed, Thomas Edison and Henry Ford realized there was something they needed—a vacation! So, the famous inventors packed up Ford's Model T and invited their good friends Harvey Firestone and John Burroughs to join them as "the Four Vagabonds" hit America's back roads to enjoy the country's natural beauty, fireside chats, and frolicking fun with friends—all while inspiring future generations to invent camping adventures of their own. “Buckle yourself in as Claudia Friddell and Jeremy Holmes take you on a fun, creative, and certainly unique road trip with America’s most famous vagabonds—Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, Harvey Firestone, and John Burroughs. The colorful and spirited illustrations, the stories of the Vagabond’s bivouacking travels and campsite escapades, and the well-researched bibliography makes Road Trip! a great addition to any child’s library!” —Matt Andres, curatorial registrar, Edison and Ford Winter Estates

The Ariadne Objective: Patrick Leigh Fermor and the Underground War to Rescue Crete from the Nazis

The Ariadne Objective: Patrick Leigh Fermor and the Underground War to Rescue Crete from the Nazis PDF Author: Wes Davis
Publisher: Paul Dry Books
ISBN: 1589881885
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 370

Get Book

Book Description
"Wes Davis' fast-paced tale of wartime sabotage reads more like an Ian Fleming thriller than a mere retelling of events." ―Wall Street Journal "The story unfolds with the rich characterization and perfectly calibrated suspense of a great novel. It can be hard at points to remember the book is actually a work of nonfiction." ―Christian Science Monitor The Ariadne Objective is the extraordinary story of the Nazi occupation of Crete told from the perspective of an eccentric band of British gentleman spies. These amateur soldiers―writers, scholars, archaeologists―included Patrick Leigh Fermor, a future travel-writing luminary; John Pendlebury, a pioneering archaeologist whose walking stick concealed a sword; Xan Fielding, who would later translate books like Bridge over the River Kwai and Planet of the Apes into English; Sandy Rendel, a future Times of London reporter; and W. Stanley Moss, who would write up his account of their exploits in Ill Met By Moonlight (Paul Dry Books, Inc.). Alongside Cretan partisans, these British intelligence officers carried out a daring plan to sabotage Nazi maneuvers, culminating in a high-risk plot to abduct the island’s German commander. Wes Davis presents the scintillating story of these legends in the making and their adventures in one of the war’s most exotic locales. Includes 17 black and white photographs.

The History of Sandford and Merton

The History of Sandford and Merton PDF Author: Thomas Day
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Conduct of life
Languages : en
Pages : 454

Get Book

Book Description


Richard III and the Bosworth Campaign

Richard III and the Bosworth Campaign PDF Author: P. W. Hammond
Publisher: Pen & Sword Military
ISBN: 9781783376162
Category : Bosworth Field, Battle of, England, 1485
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Get Book

Book Description
On 22 August 1485 the forces of the Yorkist king Richard III and his Lancastrian opponent Henry Tudor clashed at Bosworth Field in Leicestershire in one of the decisive battles of English history. Richard was defeated and killed. Henry took the crown as Henry VII, established the Tudor dynasty and set English history on a new course. For the last 500 years this, the most famous battle of the Wars of the Roses, has excited passionate interest and continuing controversy. Peter Hammond, in a vivid and perceptive account of the battle, retells the story of the tangled dynastic and personal rivalries that provoked the conflict, describes the preparations of the two converging armies and offers a gripping analysis of the contest itself. The latest historical evidence is assessed, including the recent discovery of Richard III's body in Leicester and the fascinating archaeological work that has been carried out on the battlefield. This lucid, authoritative and readable new history will be essential reading for anyone who is intrigued by the short, unhappy reign of Richard III and the trial of strength that destroyed him.