Against All Odds: The Story of the Toyota Motor Corporation and the Family That Created It

Let's assume you're a student or someone else who is required (for whatever reason) to read one book about manufacturing. It should be this one. It is a great read full of inspiration, tragedy and even triumph. Yes, I read a lot of books about manufacturing, heck, I even write them but this is easily one of my two favorite books (the other is The Machine that Changed the World). A third favorite is Hounshell's _From the American System to Mass Production, 1800-1932: The Development of Manufacturing Technology in the United States_ which albeit a bit dry, is (really) an interesting story of how manufacturing evolved. I think any manufacturing entrepreneur will be inspired by this book. It's the story of constraints and how to be successful in spite of them. It's how to create something from nothing with everything stacked against you. It's dogged determination in the face of overwhelming adversity. It's the story of how one company with no money, no technology, no skills and in the worst economic crisis in their nation's history, managed to build a living legacy that serves as the model for the world.

I simply loved the book. The history of "Toyoda"....does a great job of describing the Japanese culture from the early 1900's to the 1980's. Although Toyota is the subject....the reader is exposed to the resilience of the Japanese people. Sakichi Toyoda is a rural country boy destined to be a carpenter like his father. He chooses a different path and becomes one of the greatest inventors in the world. He conceivably is the first author of the "Six Sigma" methodology using the "5 Whys" problem solving method (fixing the source of the problem). His son Kiichiro Toyoda is obsessed with manufacturing cars and bankrupts an empire trying to build them. The spawn of this failure is born after World War II. While basically bankrupt, Toyota built and sold trucks to the US for the war in Korea. The Marshall plan infused the company with money and engineering. The result: Toyota Motor Company the Worlds largest Automaker. The story covers everything from the loom factories to the creation of Lexus....a must read for anyone who loves history.

Excellent book. Highly recommond for any one who would like to know "What is TPS?". As you see in this book one can try to copy a system but to understand and implement the philosophy behind such a system is very very difficult. Once you start reading it you will not put it down till you finish.

I thought the book was as informative as interesting. I learned a lot about Toyota, and management in general. More impressive was the writing I could not put this book down. It was exiting from start to finish.

This book will open your eyes to the unique story of men and machines in Japan, USA and Europe. There are also accurate accounts of the history of the automotive industry in the early days. You will come to realize a new appreciation for the honor and ethics of the Toyoda family and the companies and systems they founded and developed.