Book Review: The Unlikely Friendship Between Henry Ford, Thomas Edison, and John Burroughs

Writer Wes Davis explores the friendship and civil discourse among Ford, Edison, and Burroughs—despite their differences—in his new book “American Journey.”

ʻAMERICAN JOURNEY: On the Road with Henry Ford, Thomas Edison, and John Burroughs W.W. Norton & Company, 2023

An industrialist, an inventor, and a naturalist all pile into one vehicle for a road trip. It sort of has the makings of a humorous anecdote. In fact, that is practically what Wes Davis’s new book, “American Journey: On the Road with Henry Ford, Thomas Edison, and John Burroughs,” is―excepting that its form is a bit longer.

Ford, Edison, and Burroughs bestowed gifts on Americans through their innovation, ingenuity, and passion for people and nature. Mr. Davis has regifted them in a form that readers have most likely never seen―poetically as fellow travelers, or in more modern terms, road-trip buddies.

Proof of Friendship

“American Journey” explores the friendships among these three American giants, along with a handful of other important figures, like Harvey Firestone and Luther Burbank, who were at times seen with them on their travels. There were the obvious differences among the three, none greater than Burroughs compared to Edison and Ford. Mr. Davis, however, proves that they were the perfect trio in spite of those differences, and mostly because of their mutual interests.