Crucible

From the Oscar-nominated filmmaker comes a complex and sweeping historical novel about Henry Ford — the Elon Musk of his day — and the violent rise of the Ford Motor Company in 1920-30’s Detroit, featuring strikes, riots, misbegotten jungle expeditions, and the story behind Ford's private army . . .

As the Depression hits Detroit, Henry Ford — who doesn't like change — finds himself having to confront the crash of the economy, which he blames on the Jews. But his mass firings and severe salary reductions lead to an uproar, including massive hunger protests at the factory. It also heightens ethnic tension in the city, because Ford, who resisted hiring African-Americans in the first place, lays them all off first. Can his private army — consisting of ex-cons and gangsters from the Chicago Mob — keep things under control?

And what about the rubber plantation he's trying to build in the Amazon rainforest of Brazil, so that he can wrest control of the rubber industry for tires? It's off to a disastrous start, with a food riot by the indigenous employees that led to Ford having to borrow the Brazilian army. There also seems to be a blight affecting the thousands of newly planted rubber trees . . .

John Sayles presents this epic saga with a cast of characters featuring many of the real historical figures involved, including fascinating character studies of Henry Ford, his beleaguered son Edsel, the ex-cop running Ford's huge, private "security" force, Harry Bennett, and appearances by union leader Walter Reuther and boxer Joe Louis. It is also a stirring portrayal of the people who toiled in the hyper-monotonous jobs of the factories in Detroit and the Brazilian plantation.

Piercing the image of one of our most vaunted historical figures, and bringing forth the brave and inspiring story of the people who actually built Ford's empire, Crucible is the kind of griping, revealing look at the American character that John Sayles has become famous for.