The Reckoning

Better The Second Time -

I originally read The Reckoning when it was released in 1987. I was a business major in college, writing a review for the student business magazine. I came from a car-centric family (Dad and grandfather were both mechanics) and I had a decent understanding of the history of Ford. Admittedly, the Nissan-related sections of the book didn't do much for me at the time, but all the dirty laundry aired on the Ford family and management was interesting. It was my first Halberstam book.

I have now read most of the Halberstam catalog, but I thought I would pick up The Reckoning and give it a second look. Some thoughts:

- This is one of Halberstam's better written books. Halberstam is a great writer, but he could get a bit casual in tone and word choice at times. Not here.
-I paid a lot more attention to the Nissan side of the story this time around, given the company's current problems. Frankly, Halberstam did a better job describing the rise of Nissan and the culture of the Japanese car industry than he did discussing the rise and (sort of) fall of Ford. It's a fascinating read to see how this second-tier company making lousy cars rose to be a powerhouse in the industry.
-The Ford section wasn't as good as I remembered it. Halberstam's assertion is that the bean-counters took over the company, which degraded the manufacturing process and drove the innovation out of it. He acknowledges all three of the American manufacturers got lazy in the 60's due to their market dominance, got caught flat footed with the Japanese and the Germans started making and selling better cars, and couldn't pivot fast enough. I would claim the latter is true.

Top notch book for anybody with any interest in automobiles or business history, and a must for Halberstam fans.