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Book Review: The Vagabonds

IAN CASSEL / OCTOBER 31, 2016 /
BLOG (HTTPS://MICROCAPCLUB.COM/CATEGORY/BLOG/),
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Henry Ford, Thomas Edison, Harvey Firestone, and John Burroughs were all good friends.
In fact, they were known as the Four Vagabonds
(https://www.thehenryford.org/collections-and-research/digital-resources/popular-
topics/the-vagabonds/). Between 1915 and 1924 the four would go on seven camping trips
for weeks at a time. Edison would plan each trip and he wouldnt tell the others where they
were headed until they met at the start of each trip. Henry Ford would retro t Model-Ts
and other vehicles with kitchen equipment, cold boxes, food, so they could comfortably
enjoy their solitude. They would often invite other people whom they respected, even US
Presidents, to join them. They would spend countless hours traveling, talking, and enjoying
each others company before disbanding. These camping trips would end in 1924 because
they began to attract too much attention which defeated their purpose.
A friend of mine encouraged me to read these three books in the following order, and I
would encourage you to do the same:

1. My Life and Work by Henry Ford (1922)

2. Men and Rubber by Harvey Firestone (1926)
3. Edison As I Know Him by Henry Ford (1930)

My Life and Work by Henry Ford is an exceptional look into the mind of one of the worlds
greatest entrepreneurs. His impact on the transportation industry as well as other
industries cannot be overstated. At the same time the automobile industry was ascending,
so was the tire industry. Cars, trucks, tractors needed tires. Men and Rubber by Harvey
Firestone is a look into the tire industry, and how he grew Firestone Tire and dominated the
industry. Edison As I Know Him is Henry Fords tribute to his friend and mentorThomas
Edison.

Henry Ford worked for Edison until 1899 (chief engineer at Edison Illuminating Company),
and credits Edison for being the only person that gave him early encouragement to push
forward developing an automobile with an internal combustion engine. Here is a beautiful
account by Henry Ford remembering his rst encounter with Thomas Edison (source:
Edison As I Know Him).
(http://microcapclub.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/Ford-Credits-Edison.jpg)Harvey
Firestone, founder of Firestone Tire and Rubber Company, credits Henry Ford for much of
his companys success. Henry Ford would give Harvey Firestone his rst major contract for
tires that would catapult the company into dominance. In 1902, Firestone Tire had
$150,000 in sales and grew to $115 million by 1920. In the fantastic book, Men And
Rubber, he tells the story of starting and growing Firestone Tire, and also devotes several
chapters to the camping trips he had with Ford, Edison, Burroughs, and others.

You can understand why these men got a long so well because they had very similar
business philosophies. They all believed in simplicity and driving down costs, even to the
short-term detriment of their businesses. On a few occasions they would price the car
(Henry Ford), light bulb (Edison), or tire (Firestone), lower than the cost of production to
force the engineers to make changes to make it pro table at that lower price. When Edison
invented the incandescent light bulb it cost his company $1.25 per bulb to manufacture. He
sold them for $0.40 and took the loss because he knew that was the price it made economic
sense for resellers and consumers. He took losses for four years before his cost to
manufacture dropped to $0.22, and by that time millions were sold. His company was
quickly bought out. He took short term pain for long term gain. Henry Ford said, Our policy
is to reduce the price, extend the operations, and improve the article. The reduction in price
comes rstthe low price makes everybody dig for pro ts.

(http://microcapclub.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/Henry-Ford-Reducing-price.jpg)
MODEL-T PRICE AND PRODUCTION

A testament to Henry Fords integrity and long-term values, During one year our pro ts
were so much larger than we expected them to be that we voluntarily returned fty dollars
to each purchaser of a car. We felt that unwittingly we had overcharged the purchaser by
that much.

All of these men revered each other. Henry Ford on Edison, Nearly every important factor
in our prosperity directly or indirectly traces back to some invention by himI often think
how pleasant an experience has befallen me, in that my boyhoods hero became my later
manhoods friend. It is a circumstance that in the nature of things cannot occur very often.
Harvey Firestone on Henry Ford and Thomas Edison, And so this may be a nal and the
only record of our wanderings [Camping Trips], and I want to set down, partly in my own
words and partly in the words of others, something about Thomas Edison and Henry Ford,
for they certainly own the most outstanding sets of brains in the world today. I doubt if any
two men ever contributed more to the public welfare than have they, although that may not
be as generally appreciated as it ought to be. I have always liked to be with big men with
men whose ideas extend beyond the little things near at hand and whose vision has no
horizon.

I have covered 1% of these books usefulness above, so I hope I have helped seduce you to
read these three books for yourself. You might be wondering what these books have to do
with microcap investing. These men were intelligent fanatics
(https://microcapclub.com/intelligent-fanatics/). To nd great companies early, you need to
understand how greatness thinks.

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ABOUT THE MICROCAP EXPERT AUTHOR

Ian Cassel
Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/Microcapclub)

Ian has been investing in microcaps for 15 years and has been a full time
microcap investor since 2008. Ian looks to invest in great management
teams running great businesses with a moat. He tries to invest in the best
5-6-7 companies he can nd at all times. Ian founded MicroCapClub in
2011 to be a place for real and experienced investors in the microcap
space to share ideas and learn from one another. When Ian isnt
researching stocks or administering MicroCapClub, you can nd him
reading, gol ng, or shopping at Costco with his wife.

HARVEY FIRESTONE (HTTPS://MICROCAPCLUB.COM/TAG/HARVEY-FIRESTONE/)

HENRY FORD (HTTPS://MICROCAPCLUB.COM/TAG/HENRY-FORD/)

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Comments
6

Rod MacIver (http://contrarian-yield.com)

OCTOBER 31, 2016 AT 7:38 AM (HTTPS://MICROCAPCLUB.COM/2016/10/BOOK-
REVIEW-VAGABONDS/#COMMENT-20505)
 Fascinating. I look forward to reading the books.

Burroughs was the odd man out:

I love a small house, plain clothes, simple living. That is the simple life-direct and
immediate contact with things, life with the false wrappings torn away. To see
the re that warms you, or better yet, to cut the wood that feeds the re that
warms you-to see the beams that are the stay of your four walls, and the
timbers that uphold the roof that shelters you; to be in direct and personal
contact with the sources of your material life; to nd the air and the water
exhilerating; to be refreshed by a morning walk or an evening saunter; to be
thrilled by the stars at night; to be elated over a birds nest, or over a wild ower
in spring-these are some of the rewards of the simple life.
John Burroughs

It is interesting that the group included him.

Reply (https://microcapclub.com/2016/10/book-review-
vagabonds/?replytocom=20505#respond)

Ian Cassel (http://microcapclub.com/author/ian-

post
author
cassel)
OCTOBER 31, 2016 AT 7:49 AM (HTTPS://MICROCAPCLUB.COM/2016/10/BOOK-
REVIEW-VAGABONDS/#COMMENT-20506)

Yes, it was quite a fascinating group. Luther Burbank would also join them on a
couple trips. In one of the chapters in Firestones book he provides Burroughs
own writings on the observations on the trips and his thoughts on each person.

Reply (https://microcapclub.com/2016/10/book-review-
vagabonds/?replytocom=20506#respond)

John Randolph
OCTOBER 31, 2016 AT 1:04 PM (HTTPS://MICROCAPCLUB.COM/2016/10/BOOK-
REVIEW-VAGABONDS/#COMMENT-20510)

If youre not familiar with it, you may want to check out Uncommon Friends-
Life with Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, Harvey Firestone, Alexis Carrel & Charles
Lindbergh, (James Newton), a memoir written by a gentleman that knew them
 all personally.

Separately, Napoleon Hill fans will recall that the famous friendship played a
critical role in inspiring Hills Mastermind concept

Thanks for your blog, Ian-

Reply (https://microcapclub.com/2016/10/book-review-
vagabonds/?replytocom=20510#respond)

Ian Cassel (http://microcapclub.com/author/ian-

post
author
cassel)
OCTOBER 31, 2016 AT 1:32 PM (HTTPS://MICROCAPCLUB.COM/2016/10/BOOK-
REVIEW-VAGABONDS/#COMMENT-20513)

Thank you John. Last week I saw the book Uncommon Friends and purchased it.
I look forward to reading it.

Reply (https://microcapclub.com/2016/10/book-review-
vagabonds/?replytocom=20513#respond)

Vikas Rana
(http://www.ourpursuitofperfection.com/)
NOVEMBER 10, 2016 AT 6:05 AM (HTTPS://MICROCAPCLUB.COM/2016/10/BOOK-
REVIEW-VAGABONDS/#COMMENT-20783)

Thanks Ian for mentioning these 3 books. Currently reading Henry Fords
biography it is much more than what I had expected.

I was going to ask you about the book when I saw some tweets regarding the
sameam glad you dedicated an entire post..:-)

Thank You!!

Reply (https://microcapclub.com/2016/10/book-review-
vagabonds/?replytocom=20783#respond)
 Ian Cassel (http://microcapclub.com/author/ian-
post
author
cassel)
NOVEMBER 10, 2016 AT 6:46 AM (HTTPS://MICROCAPCLUB.COM/2016/10/BOOK-
REVIEW-VAGABONDS/#COMMENT-20784)

Im glad you are enjoying the autobiography. It was easier to blend the three
books together and tell it like a story then keep them separate. Thank you for
the comment.

Reply (https://microcapclub.com/2016/10/book-review-
vagabonds/?replytocom=20784#respond)

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