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From the Oscar-nominated filmmaker comes a complex and sweeping historical novel about Henry Ford -- the Elon Musk of his day -- and the violent rise of the Ford Motor Company in 1920-30's Detroit, featuring strikes, riots, misbegotten jungle expeditions, and the story behind Ford's private army . . . As the Depression hits Detroit, Henry Ford -- who doesn't like change -- finds himself having to confront the crash of the economy, which he blames on the Jews. But his mass firings and severe salary reductions lead to an uproar, including massive hunger protests at the factory. It also heightens ethnic tension in the city, because Ford, who resisted hiring African-Americans in the first place, lays them all off first. Can his private army -- consisting of ex-cons and gangsters from the Chicago Mob -- keep things under control? And what about the rubber plantation he's trying to build in the Amazon rainforest of Brazil, so that he can wrest control of the rubber industry for tires? It's off to a disastrous start, with a food riot by the indigenous employees that led to Ford having to borrow the Brazilian army. There also seems to be a blight affecting the thousands of newly planted rubber trees . . . John Sayles presents this epic saga with a cast of characters featuring many of the real historical figures involved, including fascinating character studies of Henry Ford, his beleaguered son Edsel, the ex-cop running Ford's huge, private "security" force, Harry Bennett, and appearances by union leader Walter Reuther and boxer Joe Louis. It is also a stirring portrayal of the people who toiled in the hyper-monotonous jobs of the factories in Detroit and the Brazilian plantation. Piercing the image of one of our most vaunted historical figures, and bringing forth the brave and inspiring story of the people who actually built Ford's empire, Crucible is the kind of griping, revealing look at the American character that John Sayles has become famous for.
Crucible
$32.99
Available In Stock
Description
From the Oscar-nominated filmmaker comes a complex and sweeping historical novel about Henry Ford — the Elon Musk of his day, in more ways than one — and his attempt to rule not only an automotive empire but the rambunctious city of Detroit. It is an epic tale ranging from the 1920s through the second World War, featuring violent labor disputes, misbegotten jungle expeditions, a tragic race riot, and the gestapo tactics of Ford’s private army . . .
Already the gateway for illegal Canadian liquor during Prohibition, the Motor City becomes a crucible for America class conflict during the Great Depression, an army of laid off Ford workers drifting into the ranks of the burgeoning union movement — Henry Ford's worst nightmare. To keep the hundreds of thousands still employed by him in thrall, the man who was formerly 'America's favorite tycoon' recruits black laborers migrating from the deep South to serve as 'strike insurance', and gives Harry Bennett, pugnacious as he is diminutive, free reign over the legion of barroom brawlers and ex-cons who make up the company’s 'Security Department'.
The Model T mogul has also bought a sizable chunk of Brazil's Amazonian rainforest, vowing to grow his own rubber for tires, but stubbornly refusing to include a botanist in his troop of would-be jungle tamers. As a series of biological plagues descend on the Fordlandia plantation, the racial melting pot he has created in Detroit begins to boil over, and not even the Sage of Dearborn can control the forces that have been unleashed.
The novel's cast — Ford workers black and white and their families, young radicals, cynical newsmen, gangsters, Brazilian rubber tappers, cameos from boxer Joe Louis and muralist Diego Rivera — create the tapestry of differing points of view that John Sayles has become famous for, the events portrayed fundamental to the country we live in today.
Already the gateway for illegal Canadian liquor during Prohibition, the Motor City becomes a crucible for America class conflict during the Great Depression, an army of laid off Ford workers drifting into the ranks of the burgeoning union movement — Henry Ford's worst nightmare. To keep the hundreds of thousands still employed by him in thrall, the man who was formerly 'America's favorite tycoon' recruits black laborers migrating from the deep South to serve as 'strike insurance', and gives Harry Bennett, pugnacious as he is diminutive, free reign over the legion of barroom brawlers and ex-cons who make up the company’s 'Security Department'.
The Model T mogul has also bought a sizable chunk of Brazil's Amazonian rainforest, vowing to grow his own rubber for tires, but stubbornly refusing to include a botanist in his troop of would-be jungle tamers. As a series of biological plagues descend on the Fordlandia plantation, the racial melting pot he has created in Detroit begins to boil over, and not even the Sage of Dearborn can control the forces that have been unleashed.
The novel's cast — Ford workers black and white and their families, young radicals, cynical newsmen, gangsters, Brazilian rubber tappers, cameos from boxer Joe Louis and muralist Diego Rivera — create the tapestry of differing points of view that John Sayles has become famous for, the events portrayed fundamental to the country we live in today.
Description
From the Oscar-nominated filmmaker comes a complex and sweeping historical novel about Henry Ford — the Elon Musk of his day, in more ways than one — and his attempt to rule not only an automotive empire but the rambunctious city of Detroit. It is an epic tale ranging from the 1920s through the second World War, featuring violent labor disputes, misbegotten jungle expeditions, a tragic race riot, and the gestapo tactics of Ford’s private army . . .
Already the gateway for illegal Canadian liquor during Prohibition, the Motor City becomes a crucible for America class conflict during the Great Depression, an army of laid off Ford workers drifting into the ranks of the burgeoning union movement — Henry Ford's worst nightmare. To keep the hundreds of thousands still employed by him in thrall, the man who was formerly 'America's favorite tycoon' recruits black laborers migrating from the deep South to serve as 'strike insurance', and gives Harry Bennett, pugnacious as he is diminutive, free reign over the legion of barroom brawlers and ex-cons who make up the company’s 'Security Department'.
The Model T mogul has also bought a sizable chunk of Brazil's Amazonian rainforest, vowing to grow his own rubber for tires, but stubbornly refusing to include a botanist in his troop of would-be jungle tamers. As a series of biological plagues descend on the Fordlandia plantation, the racial melting pot he has created in Detroit begins to boil over, and not even the Sage of Dearborn can control the forces that have been unleashed.
The novel's cast — Ford workers black and white and their families, young radicals, cynical newsmen, gangsters, Brazilian rubber tappers, cameos from boxer Joe Louis and muralist Diego Rivera — create the tapestry of differing points of view that John Sayles has become famous for, the events portrayed fundamental to the country we live in today.
Already the gateway for illegal Canadian liquor during Prohibition, the Motor City becomes a crucible for America class conflict during the Great Depression, an army of laid off Ford workers drifting into the ranks of the burgeoning union movement — Henry Ford's worst nightmare. To keep the hundreds of thousands still employed by him in thrall, the man who was formerly 'America's favorite tycoon' recruits black laborers migrating from the deep South to serve as 'strike insurance', and gives Harry Bennett, pugnacious as he is diminutive, free reign over the legion of barroom brawlers and ex-cons who make up the company’s 'Security Department'.
The Model T mogul has also bought a sizable chunk of Brazil's Amazonian rainforest, vowing to grow his own rubber for tires, but stubbornly refusing to include a botanist in his troop of would-be jungle tamers. As a series of biological plagues descend on the Fordlandia plantation, the racial melting pot he has created in Detroit begins to boil over, and not even the Sage of Dearborn can control the forces that have been unleashed.
The novel's cast — Ford workers black and white and their families, young radicals, cynical newsmen, gangsters, Brazilian rubber tappers, cameos from boxer Joe Louis and muralist Diego Rivera — create the tapestry of differing points of view that John Sayles has become famous for, the events portrayed fundamental to the country we live in today.
ISBN
9781685892272
Publisher
Publication Date
January 20, 2026
Binding
Hardcover, Hardback
Item Condition
New
Language
English
Pages
496
Keywords
Fiction | Historical | 20th Century - General; Fiction | Cultural Heritage; Fiction | City Life
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