{"product_id":"fins-harley-earl-the-rise-of-general-motors-and-the-glory-days-of-detroit-9780062289087","title":"Fins: Harley Earl, the Rise of General Motors, and the Glory Days of Detroit","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe \u003cem\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/em\u003e bestselling author of \u003cem\u003eBitter Brew\u003c\/em\u003e chronicles the birth and rise to greatness of the American auto industry through the remarkable life of Harley Earl, an eccentric six-foot-five, stuttering visionary who dropped out of college and went on to invent the profession of automobile styling, thereby revolutionized the way cars were made, marketed, and even imagined.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHarleys Earl's story qualifies as a bona fide American family saga. It began in the Michigan pine forest in the years after the Civil War, traveled across the Great Plains on the wooden wheels of a covered wagon, and eventually settled in a dirt road village named Hollywood, California, where young Harley took the skills he learned working in his father's carriage shop and applied them to designing sleek, racy-looking automobile bodies for the fast crowd in the burgeoning silent movie business.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAs the 1920s roared with the sound of mass manufacturing, Harley returned to Michigan, where, at GM's invitation, he introduced art into the rigid mechanics of auto-making. Over the next thirty years, he functioned as a kind of combination Steve Jobs and Tom Ford of his time, redefining the form and function of the country's premier product. His impact was profound. When he retired as GM's VP of Styling in 1958, Detroit reigned as the manufacturing capitol of the world and General Motors ranked as the most successful company in the history of business.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eKnoedelseder tells the story in ways both large and small, weaving the history of the company with the history of Detroit and the Earl family as \u003cem\u003eFins\u003c\/em\u003e examines the effect of the automobile on America's economy, culture, and national psyche.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eKnoedelseder, William:\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e - \u003cp\u003eWilliam Knoedelseder is the \u003cem\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/em\u003e bestselling author of \u003cem\u003eBitter Brew: The Rise and Fall of Anheuser-Busch and America's Kings of Beer\u003c\/em\u003e, as well as the critically acclaimed \u003cem\u003eStiffed: A True Story of MCA, the Music Business, and the Mafia\u003c\/em\u003e. His book \u003cem\u003eI'm Dying Up Here: Heartbreak and High Times in\u003cbr\u003eStand-Up Comedy's Golden Era \u003c\/em\u003eis the basis for the Showtime series of the same name. He lives in Los\u003cbr\u003eAngeles, California.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Harper Business","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50459906015506,"sku":"9780062289087","price":13.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_07cd8588-ad28-4af3-b05c-1c1fe1a59572.jpg?v=1730013813","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/fins-harley-earl-the-rise-of-general-motors-and-the-glory-days-of-detroit-9780062289087","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}