In the 1890s Colonel Albert A. Pope was hailed as a leading American automaker. That his name is not a household word today is the very essence of his story.
Pope’s production methods as the world’s largest manufacturer of bicycles led to the building of automobiles with lightweight metals, rubber tires, precision machining, interchangeable parts, and vertical integration. The founder of the Good Roads Movement, Pope entered automobile manufacturing while steam, electricity, and gasoline power were still vying for supremacy. The story of his failed dream of dominating U.S. automobile production is an engrossing view into America’s industrial history.

Stephen B. Goddard practices law and teaches history and public policy at Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut. The author of three books, he also writes for HistoryWire.com.

Stephen B. Goddard

Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 263
Bibliographic Info: 36 photos, notes, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2009 [2000]
pISBN: 978-0-7864-4089-4
eISBN: 978-1-4766-1334-5
Imprint: McFarland

Acknowledgments      vii
Preface      1

1. The Watershed      3
2. Lumbering Is What Popes Do      19
3. A Bloody Crucible      33
4. He Casts His Lot      58
5. Wheels for All      66
6. Milking the Market      91
7. Indispensable Roads      115
8. The Wunderkind      124
9. A Patented Formula      143
10. Like a Dog with a Bone      166
11. Triumphant Return      181
12. Parting      201
13. Leaving His Mark      207
Epilogue      220

Appendix 1: The Ford Enigma      233
Appendix 2: Pope Manufacturing Company Corporate Genealogy      237
Bibliography      241
Index      247

• “a wonderful job…fascinating bits of history…a valuable index and thorough bibliography. An important edition”—Choice
• “detailed…lots of history is revealed in an interesting and enlightening manner”—Old Cars Weekly
• “[a] lively biography”—SciTech Book News.