Autobiography of engineering or manufacturing leader or founder?

September 3, 2024 8:34 AM

When I was a kid, probably in the mid-1980s, I read a biography or autobiography of a male leader or founder of a manufacturing or engineering company. I thought it was Tyco, but I cannot find such a book about any of the key people from that company prior to 1990. The book describes his childhood and his engineering growth. It mentions that he had (or wanted to have?) a lathe as a kid and it got him started really understanding tooling. I think it was published well before the 1980s. It's more of a straight up narrative and not business advice. It's not going to be a famous figure like Ford or Edison. Can you help me find this book?
posted by Mo Nickels to Grab Bag (9 answers total)

Could it have been James Nasmyth's autobiography?
posted by NotMyselfRightNow at 9:11 AM on September 3

Lee Iacocoa? The book year, etc is off, but it still feels right-ish?
posted by atomicstone at 9:25 AM on September 3

Response by poster: Additional info: I think the company made toys and perhaps electronic kits. But I could be confusing that with something else I read. It's not Nasmyth, although he looks interesting.
posted by Mo Nickels at 9:25 AM on September 3

Response by poster: Like I said, it's not going to be a famous figure Iike Iacocca.
posted by Mo Nickels at 9:26 AM on September 3

Response by poster: Ah! I think I found it: A.C. Gilbert: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_Carlton_Gilbert. His autobiography was "The Man who Lives in Paradise: The Autobiography of A. C. Gilbert" (1954). Not 100% sure, though, because I can't find it in digital form to look through.
posted by Mo Nickels at 9:32 AM on September 3 [2 favorites]

You can search it but not view it at Google Books. There's one hit on "lathe" in the book: "We also brought out a drill press, wood-turning lathe, and scroll saw. They were the real thing and did a good job, but were not full-sized. We called them industrial models. They sold fairly well, but there were" - that doesn't sound like "I wanted a lathe as a kid". But is it possible it was a different tool?
posted by madcaptenor at 9:41 AM on September 3 [1 favorite]

Here is an excerpt from "The Perfectionists" with a similar story, even if it may not be the one you are looking for. Several YouTubers I respect have recommended this book to me, and I think I will finally go ahead and order it from the library. I am also very interested in the "right" answer to this question.
posted by seasparrow at 10:34 AM on September 3 [2 favorites]

Is it Les Paul? (He built his own disc-cutting lathe "with Cadillac flywheel and dental belt" as a tween.) Not sure of the book; Les Paul: An American Original (by Mary Alice Shaughnessy) was published in 1993 & Les Paul: In His Own Words (Michael Cochrane) was published in 2009.
posted by Iris Gambol at 1:27 AM on September 4

Or, Preston Tucker? The Indomitable Tin Goose: The True Story of Preston Tucker and His Car (by Charles T. Pearson), published 1960: "Tucker improvised a weird combination of an old belt-driven lathe and a horizontal milling machine." 1974 edition. (Reprinted as "The Indomitable Tin Goose: A Biography of Preston Tucker" in 1988, the year the biopic Tucker: The Man and His Dream came out.)
posted by Iris Gambol at 1:38 AM on September 4