4/5

Big fan of this book, its an excellent history and is eminently readable. There is definitely something almost ancient to Ford’s hubris, and I found the biographic material on him to be really compelling. I find it interesting a man born in the mid-19th century could be so forward thinking while still preserving much of his times biases. The chapters on the plantation itself get a little repetitive, it almost strains credibility the fact that they just kept trying to make the square peg of industrialism fit in the round hole of the amazon. I did find the conclusion to be very satisfying, and it definitely fits Fordism into a larger story about international development, human geography and environmental degradation. (less)