American Icon

<p><b>The inside story of the epic turnaround of Ford Motor Company under the leadership of CEO Alan Mulally. <p/></b>At the end of 2008 Ford Motor Company was just months away from running out of cash. With the auto industry careening toward ruin Congress offered all three Detroit automakers a bailout. General Motors and Chrysler grabbed the taxpayer lifeline but Ford decided to save itself. <p/>Under the leadership of charismatic CEO Alan Mulally Ford had already put together a bold plan to unify its divided global operations transform its lackluster product lineup and overcome a dys­functional culture of infighting backstabbing and excuses. It was an extraordinary risk but it was the only way the Ford family--America's last great industrial dynasty--could hold on to their company. <p/>Mulally and his team pulled off one of the great­est comebacks in business history. As the rest of Detroit collapsed Ford went from the brink of bankruptcy to being the most profitable automaker in the world.<i> American Icon</i> is the compelling behind-the-scenes account of that epic turnaround. <p/>In one of the great management narratives of our time Hoffman puts the reader inside the boardroom as Mulally uses his celebrated Business Plan Review meet­ings to drive change and force Ford to deal with the painful realities of the American auto industry. <p/>Hoffman was granted unprecedented access to Ford's top executives and top-secret company documents. He spent countless hours with Alan Mulally Bill Ford the Ford family former executives labor leaders and company directors. In the bestselling tradition of <i>Too Big to Fail</i> and <i>The Big Short</i> <i>American Icon</i> is narrative nonfiction at its vivid and colorful best.</p>