The Four Trials of Henry Ford

The Dark Fruit of Narcissism (or And His Pursuit of the Dark Fruit of Narcissism)

By: Gregory Piché

Narrated by: David de Vries

The Four Trials of Henry Ford chronicles Henry Ford’s forays into landmark litigation during the early years of the 20th century. Ford was a man of extraordinary genius in the intricacies and workings of mechanical objects and in the identification and hiring of talented engineers and administrative managers. But he was constitutionally unable to permit a light to shine on anyone other than himself and often employed humiliating tactics to terminate any employee who rose to prominence.

Lawyer Gregory Piché follows Ford’s lonely defense against alleged infringement of the Selden patent on the automobile brought by a powerful automotive monopoly determined to control prices and competition in the emerging automobile market. He explores a minority shareholder oppression lawsuit brought against Ford by the Dodge brothers who initially manufactured all of the mechanical parts for Ford’s cars. He covers Ford’s libel suit against the Chicago Tribune for calling him an “anarchist” and “ignorant idealist” in the midst of the patriotic fervor during the US/Mexico intervention and the run-up to World War I. And finally, he examines a Jewish lawyer’s persistent libel action against Ford for the defamation of himself and his race in anti-Semitic diatribes widely published and circulated in his personally owned newspaper, the Dearborn Independent.

In recounting the Ford litigation, Piché examines Ford’s parallel manipulation of public media to advance his own political and narcissistic agenda. It follows the initial rise of his reputation as a Progressive capitalist to its ultimate erosion as a mean-spirited bigot and contributor to the propaganda that fueled the Holocaust.

©2019 Gregory Piché (P)2019 Blackstone Publishing

entertaining, informative

A very interesting & informative book, well-narrated. Four legal actions involving Henry Ford and/or Ford Motor are covered: a patent suit, early in the history of the car; a corporate power play suit between Ford & the Dodge brothers; a libel action by Ford against the Chicago Tribune; and a libel action by a jewish organizer of farm cooperatives against Ford & his grossly anti-Semitic newspaper. I found the patent suit and the Dodge brothers case to be more interesting than the Chicago Tribune case. I had read something else about the anti-Semitic newspaper case in the past, this coverage did not do as good a job on that section. Nevertheless the author does a good job with the legal case background in all four cases, and uses actual testimony, the Q&A to good effect to move the four narratives along.

Well researched and opened my eyes!

This well researched, delightful, and well written book was the hit of my Book club. It certainly opened my eyes about Henry Ford. Greg Piche's first hand experience of Henry Ford (around his father"s dinner table) was enlightening. The authors legal background along with ability to easily explain in layman's terms the legal battles of Ford made this a good read (listen). Ford's wealth and the apparent use of the newspaper media of the day allowed him to beatify himself. But in reality he was a sad imperfect individual. His antisemitism was disturbing.
It is so prescient today.