????作為長期跟蹤汽車行業的報道者，我對有一類書特別著迷。這種書承諾，它會透露產品背后與形形色色人格有關的逸聞趣事。每當我收到一本新的皇皇巨著，我都會翻遍全書，尋找那些內幕、秘聞以及幕后流言。正是這些內容揭示了這個令人著迷又紛繁復雜的行業另一層面的真實面貌。順便公開一下：我也會瞄一眼索引，看看該書是否引述了《財富》雜志（Fortune）的內容。

????眼下，我的書架塞得滿滿當當。在克萊斯勒公司（Chrysler）和通用汽車公司（GM）破產后，汽車業一路上揚的運勢就構成了極為引人入勝的故事情節：瀕臨絕境，悔過自新，最后重獲新生。在過去兩年出版的大批一流著作中，布利斯?霍夫曼的《美國偶像：艾倫?穆拉利與拯救福特之戰》（American Icon: Alan Mulally and the fight to save Ford Motor Company）無疑是其中的翹楚。

????福特汽車公司（Ford）在穆拉利率領之下重獲新生后，眾多熱切希望記錄這一傳奇故事的作家提出的采訪請求紛至沓來。盛情難卻之下，福特選擇了霍夫曼這位《底特律新聞報》（Detroit News）的記者，并賦予他無須經過編輯審核即可秉筆直書的特許權。這真是明智之選。針對福特的成功故事，霍夫曼的這本著作既充滿了機敏的評論，又洋溢著新鮮的真知灼見。（另外透露一句：《財富》雜志及我本人都在本書中略有提及。）

????福特如何峰回路轉的基本情節早已為人所熟知。2006年，福特家族的后裔比爾?福特在邀請兩位資深高管加盟遭拒后，力邀前波音（Boeing）高管穆拉利來底特律就任。穆拉利重塑公司的方式是，大刀闊斧地砍掉了沃爾沃（Volvo）和水星（Mercury）這兩條產品線，致力于打造全球統一的福特品牌。通過自己的堅持不懈、善于游說和人格力量，他打造了一支同心同德的高管團隊。

????霍夫曼在書中寫道：“最后，福特的高管們在做決策時，不再從怎樣對自己職業生涯最有利出發，他們開始努力思索，怎么做才對公司整體而言是最佳選擇。這是迪爾伯恩（福特總部所在地——譯注）從未有過的新氣象，也是福特之所以能過王者歸來、重現輝煌的關鍵所在。”

????在本書的一開始，穆拉利活像是從普賴斯頓?斯特奇斯的喜劇電影里走出來的角色，整天嘮嘮叨叨，只知道說“哇，什么！”和“哎喲！”。但是在他的微笑背后，霍夫曼刻畫了穆拉利內在的強硬。一旦有意見不同的人開始威脅到他精心打造的聯合領導的氛圍，這種強硬態勢就會暴露無遺。

????當時，一位高管拒絕遵循他所制定的方向，穆拉利二話沒說就讓他卸職走人了。而另一位經理因為與團隊合作不佳，被穆拉利下令提前退休。霍夫曼還透露，有一次福特美國公司總裁馬克?菲爾茲使用公司專機遭到反對后威脅要撂挑子，但穆拉利還是頂住了壓力。不過，穆拉利雖然立場堅定，但從不記恨。現在人所共知的是，只要66歲的穆拉利決定退休，深受他賞識的菲爾茲就是接替他的不二人選。

????As a longtime follower of the auto industry, I am addicted to books that promise the inside skinny about the personalities behind the products. When a new tome arrives in the mail, I scour it for inside dope, untold stories, and back-room gossip that will unwrap another layer of this fascinating and complex business. Full disclosure: I also peek at the index to see if Fortune has been quoted.

????At the moment, my bookshelf runneth over. The upturn in industry fortunes that followed the bankruptcies of Chrysler and General Motors (GM) has provided an irresistible story arc of near-death, repentance, and revival. Among a number of first-rate accounts that have appeared in the past 24 months, Bryce Hoffman's American Icon: Alan Mulally and the fight to save Ford Motor Company is a standout.

????Unable to accommodate a deluge of requests from writers eager to document its revival under Mulally, Ford (F) chose Hoffman, a reporter for the Detroit News, and granted him unique access to tell its story without editorial oversight. It chose wisely. Hoffman has produced a book brimming with smart observations and fresh insights into Ford's success. (Another disclosure: Both Fortune and I are mentioned, briefly, in the book).

????The outlines of the Ford turnaround are well known by now. Family scion Bill Ford lured Mulally, a former Boeing (BA) executive, to Detroit in 2006 after being rebuffed by two more experienced leaders. Mulally reshaped the company by dropping lines like Volvo and Mercury and focusing on one global Ford brand. He built a team of like-minded executives through persistence, persuasion, and force of personality.

????"Ford's executives finally stopped making decisions based on what was best for their own careers and started trying to figure out what was best for the company as a whole," Hoffman writes. "That was something that had never happened before in Dearborn and it was the key to Ford's phenomenal resurgence."

????At first telling, Mulally comes off like a character from a Preston Sturges movie, all "aw shucks" and "gee whiz." But behind the smiles, Hoffman reveals a toughness in Mullaly that surfaces when dissenters threaten his carefully-nurtured atmosphere of collegiality.

????When one executive refused to follow his direction, Mulally simply eliminated his job. He pushed another manager into early retirement because he played badly with others. Hoffman also reports that Mulally withstood a threat from Americas president Mark Fields to quit when Fields was challenged over the use of a company airplane. Mulally stood his ground but didn't hold a grudge. Fields is now the clear favorite to succeed him whenever the 66-year-old decides to retire.