Driving Honda: Inside the World’s Most Innovative Car Company

International Business Times editor in chief Rothfeder (McIlhenny’s Gold) looks under the hood of Honda, a company with bragging rights including never having posted a loss, a stock price which has doubled since 2008, and factors of industrial performance that surpass the rest of the auto sector. Asserting that Honda is so successful because it “focuses on doing one thing well—making engines that last a long time” and because it constantly “works to perfect this core skill,” Rothfeder studies the company’s history, culture, and principles. In lively fashion, he retraces the steps of visionary founder Soichiri Honda, who, in the wake of WWII, rose from a bike apprentice, to a piston company owner, to the founder of a small motorbike company that evolved into Honda. Rothfeder also paints intimate portraits of CFO Takeo Fujisawa, other top executives, and rank-and-file employees that humanize the narrative and illustrate how respect for individualism and innovation pervade the company’s culture. Rothfeder’s inside look at research and development and details about engines, motors, and assembly lines make this book an engineering or manufacturing fanatic’s dream, but readers from all industries will enjoy this entertaining and informative work. [em]Agent: Kris Dahl, ICM. (Aug.) [/em]