Clever Geek Handbook
4 February 2026

Real Venture Capital

Recommendation

This brief book offers a sound introduction to the fundamentals of venture capital investing. Though it emphasizes the United Kingdom, it illustrates the state of the venture capital business in other nations as well. Richard Thompson gives a straightforward explanation of what “real venture capital” is. He distinguishes venture capital for new business development from private equity, or refinancing, for established companies. Case studies and anecdotes from the author’s own experience support his plain, commonsense recommendations. While this book will be particularly appropriate for readers in the U.K., BooksInShort also recommends it to any reader seeking a short, practical guide to the business of investing venture capital.

Take-Aways

  • “Real venture capital” helps new businesses grow. The investors act as “partners” of the entrepreneurs or managers of those businesses.
  • Private equity that is invested in established businesses is not venture capital.
  • Venture capital investors need to balance their gut instincts with analytical discipline.
  • Venture capitalists should be prepared for a long-term investment horizon, but can expect very good returns.
  • Venture capitalist must have a solid understanding of business basics.
  • Young companies should specialize in a niche, focus on quality and build an international market.
  • A new company can gain domestic market share and then move into international markets more easily in the United States than in the European Union.
  • Managing currency risk and other international business complexities requires knowledgeable, professional advice.
  • Health care and technology are fast-growing industries with international scope, which makes them well-suited for venture capital.
  • Directors have become more independent of managers in recent years.

Summary

Venture Capital and Private Equity

Investing venture capital can be a high-return, low-risk business. But the term “venture capital” has many connotations, not all of them positive. In the United Kingdom, venture capital investment is widely denounced as a game for fast buck artists. But “real venture capital” helps new or existing companies grow; the investor acts as a “positive partner to the entrepreneurs and executives” of those firms. The U.K. economy needs companies that begin small, grow and expand abroad. The government cannot stand in the place of venture capitalists because it acts too slowly, even when business conditions demand rapid action.

“Venture capital, properly practiced, is a long-term business, a partnership with entrepreneurs and executives.”

Investors of real venture capital commit to collaborate over the long term with company founders and managers. They bring valuable insight and expertise to businesses. Typically, venture capitalists aim for fat returns on investments in common equity. When venture capitalists own common stock, their interests are aligned with those of other common shareholders.

“Institutions need to put more money into real venture capital, partly because the buy-out market is overcrowded.”

In the U.K., disappointing returns on venture capital investments in new businesses led to increased infusions of private equity in existing businesses. An example of this type of investing is the leveraged buyout, that is, the use of borrowed money to buy a business. Private equity is a valuable form of business financing, but it cannot replace venture capital since it cannot generate as much economic activity as venture capital. Private equity groups that invest in ongoing businesses create nothing new. Nevertheless, private equity groups compete vigorously with venture capital groups for investors’ money.

“Usually the key to success for a young growth company is to have a narrow product focus and to exploit this as widely as practicable in the international market.”

After World War II, modern venture capital blossomed in the United States, where the domestic market is large, and the culture favors risk-taking. Venture capital investment became a more common form of financing during the 1960s, especially for technology companies in the Palo Alto, California, area. In the U.K. and in continental Europe, conservative risk aversion has stymied the development of venture capital.

Types of Venture Capital

Venture capital takes the form of “early-stage,” “second-round” and “third-round” investments. The risks and rewards of these three types vary according to the company’s stage of development. Early-stage investments can be highly rewarding but quite risky, especially if the company does not yet have any revenue or profit. Entrepreneurs who passionately pursue great ideas run the best start-ups. They require small capital commitments, with additional capital contingent upon satisfactory results.

“The U.S. is the easiest market in which to build a new company, since a base can first be established in the domestic market and then, from strength, the company can strike out into the international one.”

Second-round investments of venture capital usually go to companies that are profitable. Although the risk is moderate, the potential rewards can be very attractive. Companies in this stage generally require more capital than early-stage ventures, but the lower risk justifies a larger investment.

“Having good professional advisers when dealing with overseas companies and investors is a ‘sine qua non’.”

The ideal candidate for a third-round investment of venture capital would be a company with a solid domestic market and growing international markets. The risk is low and the potential reward high. While organic growth is best, business acquisitions for strategic or tactical reasons may be advisable.

Where to Put Venture Capital

A successful venture capitalist targets industries and geographic markets with high growth rates. Building a new business is not as hard in the U.S., for example, as it is in the U.K. or in Europe. Heretofore, most venture capital investing has occurred in developed countries. Global trends suggest that more venture capital opportunities will evolve in China, India and other emerging countries.

“The recent rapid expansion in venture capital in the U.K. is likely to be followed by a period of shake-out.”

Health care and technology companies in the U.S. are particularly attractive candidates for venture capital. Young companies in those fields can succeed by building a reputation for quality, getting established in the domestic market and then expanding abroad. In the early stages, technology companies require less capital than health care companies but may face greater competitive threats.

“From an investment standpoint, instrument companies can offer low risk/medium reward opportunities with a good degree of stability. Those which involve very high cost items are, however, to be dealt with warily.”

Successful companies often use venture capital to fund innovative product development. This can be “market-led,” that is based on connections and a thorough knowledge of market trends, or “product-led,” which may require patent protection to penetrate markets and to defend against competitive incursions.

“The main opportunities for venture capital investment in the pharmaceutical sector are in services companies.”

Investments in employees may be the biggest that health care and technology companies make. Winning companies make sure that all of their employees have adequate training, understand the mission and know through regular performance reviews how well they are performing. Companies also must invest in property and equipment, but they should perform disciplined analysis and use solid decision methodologies.

Entrepreneurs, Managers and Directors

Depending upon their stage of development, businesses tend to rely primarily on entrepreneurs, managers or directors. People in each class of leaders have distinguishing personality traits. Entrepreneurs often start businesses as a means of self-expression. They can be positive, loyal and generous. They also can be defensive and vengeful. Money is not their primary motivation. They long, instead, for the broad recognition that a great idea attracts.

“The issues that normally cause the most trouble and steam on a deal relate to financial and legal matters.”

Managers are indispensable as a company grows. The best ones are steady team players, detail-oriented and trustworthy. They are more analytical and less intuitive than entrepreneurs. Ideally, managers balance the instincts and drives of entrepreneurs. When management is excessive, companies suffer.

“The role of boards has changed but their structure and operating methods have not.”

The role of the board of directors has changed in recent years. Directors face greater accountability for negotiating priorities among various stakeholders. Companies that seek broad representation on their boards tend to put more emphasis on social responsibility. Independent directors unaffiliated with management hold most board positions at larger companies. The board should ensure that enough checks and balances are in place to protect the company from executive errors.

Controls, Cash Flows and Compensation

Financial processes and controls are particularly important for a young business feeding on venture capital. Simple, straightforward financial structures work best. Companies should avoid complicated tax-avoidance strategies that introduce needless organizational complexity. Profitability is an important measure of performance, but from a venture capitalist’s perspective, cash flow is the single most important financial metric, especially for companies in trouble.

“Intuitive judgment is vital in selecting investments, but it must be backed up by relevant tactical data.”

When borrowing makes sense, the company can take on debt. However, start-up companies should avoid leverage as much as possible. Start-ups have a hard enough time generating cash flow to cover operations without worrying about debt service.

Stock options may be the most appropriate way to compensate key employees and keep them on board for the long term. Options typically vest over a period of years after the award dates, requiring the employees who hold them to wait for the payoff. However, be judicious when choosing this form of compensation and pricing the options.

Investing in Business Turnarounds

Business turnarounds are necessary when investments fail to perform as expected. Public companies in need of a turnaround are better off going private in order to keep the necessary surgery out of the public eye. Investors in turnarounds often exit either by taking the company public again or seeking another private buyer.

“Options and warrants are...the only way in which staff can be brought into the equity on reasonable terms.”

Patience is not a virtue among venture capital investors in distressed businesses. No investment is warranted unless the troubled company can turn itself around quickly. One common mistake is underestimating the length of time a turnaround can take.

Getting rid of the upper-level managers responsible for leading the company into trouble is a common first step. Many companies have solid, lower-level managers who can step into the vacated senior posts. The goal of a turnaround is to raise margins, often by lowering overhead. Possible cures include dumping poorly performing products and terminating unproductive staff and, perhaps even selling whole business units.

“My main argument with forms of private equity other than venture capital is not in what they do, which is often valuable, but that they mop up a large amount of the capital for new ventures.”

Managers best qualified to run turnarounds are financially astute and have an intense short-term focus. This will not be the same kind of manager who is most appropriate for running a business over the long term.

Going Public

A public offering is the preferred exit strategy among many venture capitalists. A public offering can provide a market test to assess the value of a company and thereby facilitate a private sale farther down the line. The IPO price will depend on growth, productivity and future prospects. Rushing the process may be unrewarding, though. If you take a company public prematurely, you will regret it.

The company should exercise caution in selecting its investment bank. Ideally, the investment bank’s work on the IPO will become the foundation for a long-term relationship. A successful initial offering could enable the company to work with the investment bank to raise additional equity capital in a secondary offering of stock.

Initial public offerings are likely to succeed if the company has a stable business, solid management and sound governance. Preparing for life as a public company is part of getting ready for an IPO. Selling stock to the public puts additional regulatory scrutiny on a company, heightening the need for a well-qualified corporate finance staff to work with shareholders and handle public reporting duties.

Alliances and Acquisitions

Alliances allow smaller companies to build the credibility necessary to compete for major contracts. Alliances in the health care and technology industries allow smaller, niche companies to focus on core competence in, say, product development, leaving marketing or manufacturing to bigger partners. Alliances between companies in the same size range may involve reciprocal arrangements to sell each other’s products.

Alliances may give way to acquisitions. But acquisitions sometimes fail to deliver benefits as expected. An economic and cultural fit is required for the deal to succeed. Acquisitions disappoint investors if the anticipated synergy proves to be a mirage. Before completing an acquisition, exercise due diligence with rigorous discipline and a clear focus on the facts.

Acquisition prices may be denominated in cash or stock, or both, and no sale can proceed until buyers and sellers agree on terms. Investment banking services and legal services are required if at least one party to the deal is a publicly held company. Legal services alone may be enough to consummate a business acquisition if both parties to the transaction are privately held companies.

Whatever their exit strategy, venture capitalists play an important role in economic development. But positive investment results are hardly guaranteed. In the U.K. and the U.S. and beyond, venture capitalists succeed or fail based on their skill and discipline in evaluating, executing and protecting investments.

About the Author

Richard Thompson is a Cambridge science graduate who subsequently qualified in both chartered engineering and management consultancy. He has co-founded and chaired several successful venture capital firms over a 30-year span.

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Real Venture Capital

Book Real Venture Capital

Building International Business

Palgrave Macmillan,
 


4 February 2026

Just Who Will You Be?

Recommendation

This brief little book by Maria Shriver is sincere and simple. In it, she poses the question; “Just who will you be?” She tells of her own journey to find the answer, sparked by a commencement speech – including an extended poem – that she gave to her nephew’s graduating class. She realized that stripped of her exterior roles and identities – First Lady of California, wife of actor turned politician, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, member of the Kennedy family and network television newswoman – she felt empty and uncertain. Not surprisingly, her spiritual search revealed that roles and fame don’t define you. Every human is worthy of love and respect. If you don’t mind an occasional touch of the sentimental and even, sometimes, sophomoric, and you’re curious about the book’s famous author, BooksInShort believes you’ll enjoy this visit with her.

Take-Aways

  • Author Maria Shriver is a television personality, the wife of California Governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, the mother of four and a member of the Kennedy family.
  • She suffered an identity crisis when her son described her as a “housewife.”
  • After working in TV news for two decades, she no longer had a job to define her.
  • Maria’s nephew asked her to give his high school’s commencement speech.
  • In her speech she posed the question, “Just who will you be?”
  • She recited a poem she wrote. It received a warm reception and inspired this book.
  • Maria then asked herself the same question. Her search for the answer revealed that the roles you play do not define you.
  • You can’t live your life hoping to fulfill other people’s expectations.
  • To find out who you really want to be, you must follow your heart.
  • Everyone deserves love, and is entitled to pursue his or her dreams and ambitions.

Summary

Maria Shriver’s Meltdown

One day, Maria Shriver was shopping with her teenage son. A passerby asked her son if Shriver was a model. “A model!” he exclaimed. “No, she’s just a housewife.”

That was a pivotal moment for Shriver. After all, she had never thought of herself as a housewife. As a little girl, she had spent many hours dreaming about what she would be when she grew up, but “housewife” never made the list.

“I’m still a work in progress, and I’m writing my next act now.”

She decided on her future course when she was a teenager in 1972. She attended the Democratic National Convention with her father, Peace Corps founding director and former Ambassador to France, Sergeant Shriver. [After the Convention’s vice presidential nominee, Thomas Eagleton, turned out to have mental health issues, Shriver’s father replaced him and campaigned to become vice president alongside presidential candidate George McGovern. Richard Nixon and Spiro Agnew defeated them.] For Maria, the highlight of the whole experience was sitting in the back of the campaign plane with the reporters. The journalists covering the convention impressed her so much that she decided to pursue a career in television journalism.

“Sometimes life happens to you, and – bingo! – your idea of who you think you are just goes up in smoke.”

After she graduated from college, Shriver began working in television. She started off running errands, and then became a reporter and a producer until, finally, she made it to the top and became a network anchor at NBC News. She enjoyed her busy career and her identity as a newswoman, however, she was no stranger to the limelight, having grown up amid the Kennedy family. Her mother, Eunice Kennedy Shriver (sister of the late President John F. Kennedy, the late Sen. Robert Kennedy and Sen. Ted Kennedy) founded the Special Olympics. Maria remembers dinners at the family table crowded with Peace Corps volunteers and afternoons when the family hosted Special Olympics athletes around its swimming pool.

Off-Screen

Shriver lost her spot on network television when her husband, Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger, star of the Terminator movies, decided to run for governor of California. NBC felt that it would be a conflict of interest for Shriver to continue reporting the news. Schwartzenegger won the election and she had a new identity: First Lady of the State of California.

“I pledge to ‘show up’ in my life as myself, not as an imitation of anyone else.”

After working in television news for 25 years, Shriver now stopped being a newswoman. That left her wondering what she was instead. Was she really a housewife? After all, she did have four children and she wasn’t working at a steady job. Was she an author? She had written several books, but she was not writing at the time. Or, was she cast entirely in her role as a governor’s wife and, if so, what did that mean exactly?

“Just because people know your name, it doesn’t mean they know who you are.”

As Shriver was melting down into a severe identity crisis, her nephew called to ask for a favor. Would she please give the commencement speech at his high school graduation? She turned him down a few times, until he “played the guilty card,” and wheedled, “You’re my one and only godmother.” So she gave in, but she found planning for this speech more challenging than prepping for the countless others she had delivered. As Shriver pondered what she could possibly talk about to the graduating class, she realized that she would ask them the question that she had been struggling with at the time. She wouldn’t ask, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” Instead, she would ask, “Who is the person you want to be? Who is the You you’ll become?”

“I had been living a life of privilege, power, and fame – filled with all the excitement, glamour, and high drama people dream of – but now when I stood still, I felt empty.”

The question struck a chord with her audience. In fact, so many people told Shriver that her speech inspired them that she decided to share it in a book.

Shriver’s Speech

When Maria Shriver faced the audience at her nephew’s high school graduation, she began her speech by wondering aloud why the class asked her to talk in the first place. Was it because she is First Lady of the State of California? Or, perhaps, it was because she is married to a famous actor who had become a famous politician? No, if they wanted to hear about the Governor, they would have invited him.

“A deep change for me was realizing I’d have to take the time to know what I feel, in order to know who I am and who I want to be.”

It could have been, she supposed, because she is a Shriver, a member of America’s unofficial royal family, the Kennedys. Or, it could simply be because of her years of appearing on television as a reporter and anchor at NBC News. But that couldn’t be it, because, of course, she wasn’t on TV any more. Then Shriver realized that she got invited because combining all of these things makes her famous.

“Will you follow the crowd Or follow your gut? Will you be a leader Or anything but?”

“That’s it!” she declared. “It’s the fame thing! I can talk to you about the fame thing!” She tried to explain to the students what it really means to be famous. She asked them why people, especially teenagers, find the idea of fame so appealing. The media bombards you with images of famous people everyday. You see picture after picture of people who are famous for nothing other than being famous. Famous people always appear to be glad, slim, wealthy and beautiful. Yet, is fame a commendable life goal? It depends on why you want it and what you do with it.

“Take time to be quiet Hear what your own voice is Learn who you are By making good choices”

Fame in and of itself will not make you fulfilled or happy. The only true path to happiness is to listen carefully to your inner voice and let it guide you. That may be true, but, perhaps, you still want to be famous. That urge is okay, but ask yourself, “What do you want to be famous for?” You might decide to become famous so that you can fulfill some purpose, like making the world a better place. Become the type of famous person who is recognized as an individual of accomplishment, “integrity, character and vision.”

The Message of the Poem

At this point in her speech, Shriver read a long poem she wrote for the occasion entitled, “Just Who Will You Be?” The poem posed some of the questions she had introduced earlier in her speech and offered students advice about becoming the kind of people they really wanted to be as adults. Think about what you want to do with your life after high school, she told them. It is better to “follow your gut,” and not the crowd. Avoid getting into trouble in college by recognizing the dangers of bad behavior and turning away from it, telling yourself, “I don’t need it.” Understand that you can be cool and kind at the same time. As Bill Gates once said, “Be nice to a nerd. He’ll be your boss someday!”

“And don’t be so fearful You’re too scared to fail I’ve had my share of failures And lived to tell the tale”

Avoid materialism. Instead of focusing on accumulating lots of stuff, which will never be truly rewarding, listen to your own inner voice and identify your genuine values. Understand that belongings do not define your worth as a human being. As Shriver wrote, “You can get the cool clothes, And the jewelry and car, But that doesn’t measure, The person you are.”

“As you go down the road As you see what you see You’ll keep right on learning Just who you will be”

On your way to becoming who you want to be, you will face pitfalls and make mistakes. You may feel alone as you strive for your goals, but keep trying. Don’t be afraid to take on difficult challenges, because that is how you will learn and grow. If you head up the wrong path, it is okay to “just change your mind.” As you build a career, don’t fear starting on the bottom rung of the ladder. Then, you can climb to the top and learn as you go, which is how Shriver built her television career. Seek a strong mentor to “guide you and teach you.” Don’t give your whole life up to your work, however. Take time to have fun. Remember, your work is not who you are.

“Think of using your brains And your talent and youth To solve difficult problems To find out the truth”

Set goals with meaning and purpose, and try to be of service to others. Tackling the world’s hard problems and raising wonderful children is far more important than simply striving to be famous. Fame is an “image,” not “your soul.” Apart from the “sparkle, the glitter and such,” famous people still must determine who they want to be when the spotlight turns away.

“So it’s not on the outside, The things you can see – It’s the stuff on the inside That shows who you’ll be”

Don’t believe stereotypes that might limit your life. Young women can be “girly and strong,” while young men can be “macho and still have a warm heart.” When they wed, young people should not lose their identities or marry just for “the steam” that will dissipate over time. If your spouse is also your friend, “you’ll have someone to laugh with, And you’ll love them still.” The poem ends:

“I pledge to ask myself, ‘who am I? What do I believe in? What am I grateful for? What do I want my life to stand for’.”

“If you follow your heart... And just listen to me You’ll turn into the you... You are destined to be!”

Lesson Learned

After her audience received her poem and her speech with so much enthusiasm, Shriver realized that it was time for her to listen to her own advice. After all, she had spent her whole life trying to live up to other people’s expectations. Now that she was no longer a television newscaster, she was confused about her identity. She had invested so much of her time establishing a public name for herself that she no longer knew who she was privately.

Her first instinct was to return to what felt the most comfortable. So she called NBC and asked for her old job back. To her relief and amazement, they said “yes.” However, Shriver decided to give herself a little time to think before she re-entered the workforce. As she sat and thought alone, a prayer from the Hopi tribe of Native Americans ran through her mind again and again. It said: “Here are the things that must be considered: Where are you living? What are you doing? What are your relations? Where is your water? Know your garden. It is time to speak your truth.”

Shriver realized that she no longer wanted to cover the news. Those days really were gone. However, that revelation left a huge void in her life. After all, her parents had raised her to believe that you are what you do. If you aren’t working, serving and achieving, then you barely exist. When Shriver abandoned the exciting identity of a famous, privileged and influential person who appeared on the national news, she felt frightened and empty.

The true answer, Shriver discovered, lay in her heart and soul. She came to see that who you are has nothing to do with your job title, what family you were born into or how much money you have. Everyone deserves love and respect just for being on this planet. All people are entitled to dream their own dreams, strive for their own goals and leave their own legacies.

Shriver learned that her various roles did not define her. Being the child of a well-known family, a television personality, the wife of a powerful man, the mother of four children and the author of several books are all part of her, but they are not and cannot be the entirety of her being.

When Shriver dared to ask, “Just who am I?”, she discovered many things about herself. She realized that she is a caring, nurturing and spiritual person. She can finally acknowledge herself as brave, creative and willing to take on new challenges. However, she had to admit that the things she had cared about deeply in her twenties and thirties are not necessarily the things she cares about as she grows older.

Daring to change her goals and her self-definition was a big step for Shriver, who was raised to push past her emotions, to “buck up, get a grip and carry on.” This point of view helped her achieve many of her goals, because she never stopped to feel the fear that might have held her back. Her gutsy attitude came from her famous family, but it had drawbacks. She always felt she had to “live up to the myth.” When she dared to define her own role, she could remove, “some of the armor I put on as a child and wore my whole life.” This sharpened her perceptions and made her more open to other people. She discovered that she felt a new softness and a new sense of caring “for myself and others.”

Shriver came to understand that she has to allow herself to grow and change, and that is what she advises others to do as well. She vows to continue to work on the things that she believes are important to her family, her community and the world. She will encourage her children to pursue their passions. She will also continue to observe her faith. Most importantly, she promises herself that she will try to live an authentic life and follow the path of her heart every day.

About the Author

Maria Shriver is an award-winning journalist and the author of five bestsellers: And One More Thing Before You Go... and Ten Things I Wish I’d Known – Before I Went Out into the Real World for adults, and three children’s books written with Sandra Speidel: What’s Heaven?, What’s Wrong with Timmy and What’s Happening to Grandpa?

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Just Who Will You Be?

Book Just Who Will You Be?

Big Question. Little Book. Answer Within.

Hyperion,
 


4 February 2026

Chrysler

Recommendation

Stop whatever you’re doing. Take a week off from work and read this book! Rarely is a massive biography a pleasure to read. Usually, even the most critically acclaimed biographies are long on tedious detail and short on page-turning storytelling and exquisite style. Vincent Curcio’s biography of automotive pioneer Walter Chrysler is the exception to all these norms. Fascinating, impeccably written and completely engrossing, this sweeping tale is more than just a biography. True to its title, it is also a panoramic view of Walter Chrysler’s times. Don’t be put off by the length, even though index and all, it is 699 pages long. Even if you don’t think you’re interested in the automotive industry, read this book anyway. BooksInShort joins the ranks of critics and industry insiders who’ve praised it and promises you will not be able to put it down.

Take-Aways

  • Walter Chrysler loved and understood machines.
  • His success came from understanding engineering and being totally committed to the quality of his cars.
  • Born in Kansas in 1875, he was the son of a railroad engineer.
  • At 17, he became a machine shop apprentice with the Union Pacific Railroad.
  • He worked as a machinist in railroad shops across the Midwest, rising in the ranks.
  • He honed his management skills in the railroad industry.
  • He bought a 1908 Locomobile touring car so he could study it.
  • After running a manufacturing firm, he became the plant manager for the Buick division of General Motors in 1912, and was president of Buick from 1916 to 1919.
  • He turned around the ailing Maxwell car company and created his first car, the Chrysler Six in 1923.
  • In 1925, he transformed Maxwell into the Chrysler Corporation, the third largest automobile company in the world.

Summary

Working His Way Up

Walter Chrysler loved machines. An accomplished mechanic, he also had excellent management skills honed from years in the railroad industry. His success came from his deep understanding of engineering and his total commitment to the quality of his vehicles.

Chrysler began his working years as a locomotive wiper in a Kansas roundhouse and rose to the head of the Buick Division of General Motors. In a pivotal move he rescued the flailing Maxwell-Chalmers car company and developed the 1924 Chrysler, the world’s first modern car. He formed the Chrysler Corporation in 1925, establishing his New York City headquarters in the world’s most famous art-deco structure, the famed Chrysler Building, which he built and helped design. Chrysler, a colorful maverick, was very different from the other automotive pioneering giants of his day. His company prospered during the Great Depression because of his emphasis on "quality at popular prices." The Chrysler Corp. lost money only in the rock-bottom year of the Depression, 1932, and despite the "market fiasco" of their Chrysler Airflow (which was actually years ahead of its time), the company grew and remained profitable right up to Walter Chrysler’s death in 1940.

The Early Years

Walter Chrysler and his four children were fascinated by genealogy and conducted extensive research into family history. Their first recorded verifiable ancestor was Johann William Kreussler, who was born around 1560 in Germany. He was the chief magistrate or mayor of Niederhadamar, a little town north of Limburg-on-the-Lahn.

“All of his life Chrysler was a hard-drinking, cigar-smoking, big-eating man who loved a laugh, a joke, and a good time, and success had not dampened any of his appetites.”

The ancestor who brought the family to America was Johann Philipp Kreussler, born in Niederneisen (in an area called the Lower Palatinate) on Jan. 26, 1679. In 1708, he and his wife and sons were part of a group that petitioned the British government to transport them to the American colonies. Considering these German citizens to be industrious, the British government granted their petition, and the group became known as the First Settlement of the Palatines in America. The group set sail from Plymouth, England in the spring of 1710 and reached the port of New Amsterdam (New York) in June.

“As far as the automobile business is concerned, Walter Chrysler was the great anomaly. He was the genius of a late age, the only other man to achieve on the scale of Ford and Durant, and at a time when this should have been no longer possible.”

Throughout the 1700s and early 1800s, the spelling of the family’s last name evolved until it became Chrysler. After the U.S. Revolutionary War, in 1781, a Chrysler ancestor who was loyal to Great Britain settled in Canada. Walter Chrysler’s grandfather, John, brought the family back to the U.S. in 1857, settling in Wyandotte, Kansas.

“Once Chrysler had his assembly line, he went backward through the plant tying everything into it. He said his biggest cue for a needed change was the sight of a worker idled by the lack of a continuous flow of parts.”

Walter Chrysler’s father, Henry, was only seven when the family moved to Kansas. As an adult, Henry worked for the Kansas Pacific Railroad, later known as the Union Pacific. His first job was as a railroad fireman on the Delaware, the second engine built for the railway line. He was promoted to engineer. Walter used to say his father was the best locomotive engineer on the division, famous from one end of the Union Pacific to the other. In 1871, Henry, then 20 and known as "Hank," married Anna Maria Breyman. Walter Percy Chrysler was born in Wamego, Kansas, on Apr. 2, 1875, his parents’ fourth wedding anniversary.

“Chrysler was both a creator and victim of the prosperity consciousness of the 1920s that eventually brought everyone to financial ruin.”

When Walter was three, his family moved to a new (and often dangerous) railroad town, Ellis, Kansas. Young Walt liked to ride in the cab of his dad’s train engine. He also loved music, and played drums, piano, clarinet and tuba. "To the end of his days, if it hooted or tweeted, if you could bang it or plunk on it, Walter Chrysler could play it, and play it well." In his first boyhood jobs, Walter sold calling cards and, later, silverware. Both were great successes, but he gave them up to help his mother with her dairy business. He helped take care of the three cows and the stable, did the milking and sold the milk and cream from house to house in Ellis. He learned to track manufacturing costs in this small family business,

“He came to understand the automobile and the industry that produces it to the nth degree. In this way he became the most knowledgeable of all auto men.”

When his father wouldn’t allow him to become a railroad apprentice, Walter went to work for the railroad anyway, quitting high school to become a janitor, or "sweeper," for ten cents an hour, ten hours a day at the shops where mechanics worked on locomotive engines. After six months, the master mechanic helped persuade Walter’s father to let the young man become an apprentice. At 17, he began a four-year term as a machine-shop apprentice with the Union Pacific. His starting pay was 5.5 cents an hour, a little more than half what he had earned as a sweeper, but he was thrilled. In his off time, he played in the Union Pacific Band, and joined the town baseball team. Young Walter Chrysler was living his boyhood dreams.

“This was the exact opposite of the way Henry Ford approached centralized assembly.”

After his apprenticeship, Walter worked at railroad shops in towns across the Union Pacific line. In 1901, he married Della Forker, his longtime fiancée, and they settled in Salt Lake City, Utah. The next year, he became foreman at the railroad roundhouse, his first management position. In 1904, he went to Childress, Texas, to work for the Fort Worth & Denver City Railroad. He was well liked there, respected by the railroad men because he was a practical, self-made man, a machinist by trade and a good one. Those who worked under him knew that he was "just as eager to gain knowledge as they were." In 1906, he and his wife were expecting their second child when they moved to Oelwein, Iowa, where he was appointed master mechanic at the Chicago Great Western Railroad shops.

“The new Chrysler automobile was made out of whole cloth by men who had no preconceptions of what a car should be, and because they were not burdened with a preexisting corporate culture dictating design and manufacturing traditions, they were free to burst onto the world with a brand new kind of car.”

Chrysler first encountered "the romance of the automobile" at the 1908 Chicago auto show. "I saw this Locomobile touring car... I spent four days hanging around the show, held by that automobile as by a siren’s song." He wanted that car, but he only had $700 in savings, and the car was $5,000, with no bargaining room. He recalled, "All I asked myself was: Where could I raise the money?" He borrowed the money through a banker who would go on to become instrumental in the automotive industry. Chrysler said, "I wanted the machine so I could learn all about it. Why not? I was a machinist and these self-propelled vehicles were by all odds the most astonishing machines that had ever been offered to men."

Chrysler and The Automobile Industry

By the end of 1901, Chrysler moved his family to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where he continued in the railroad business as superintendent at the Allegheny Works of the American Locomotive Company (ALCO). He learned locomotive manufacturing and created a system that led the plant to turn a profit for the first time. By 1911, he was earning $8,000 per year, a huge salary at the time. He was negotiating manufacturing deals and ALCO was building engines for all the major railroads in the United States.

“No more did practically all cars have to be black, because that was the fastest-drying color. No more would it take two to four weeks for the paint on car bodies to dry.”

Soon the new automobile industry came calling. In January 1912, he went to Flint, Michigan to become the plant manager for the Buick division of General Motors. By the time he entered the automobile business, many inventors had built versions of the "horseless carriage" and the U.S. automobile manufacturing business was 15 years old. But if ever a man was suited to the tasks of such a period, it was Walter Chrysler.

Chrysler at Buick

At General Motors, Walter Chrysler made crucial manufacturing changes that increased efficiency and production capacity. He reinvented the assembly line. He demanded that new items be perfected before they were added to the Buick, increasing the car’s already prized reputation for quality. He made changes quickly, wasting no time on lengthy conferences and red tape. He always acknowledged the excellent men working with him.

“Now that auto companies had something glamorous to sell in their showrooms, advertisers appeared with the ability to sell these romantic new dream machines to a waiting public.”

On June 7, 1916, Chrysler became president of GM’s Buick division. On June 27 he was elected to the GM board of directors, and on Dec. 14 he became a vice president of the corporation. Yet, only three years later, on Nov. 1, 1919, 44 years old and wealthy beyond what he had ever imagined, Walter announced his departure from General Motors. Selling his GM stock brought him millions. He wanted to go into car manufacturing for himself.

Chrysler the Auto Maker

On Jan. 6, 1920, the ailing Willys-Overland Company announced that Walter Chrysler would take over as executive vice president and general manager. Just as Chrysler had turned Buick into the third-largest auto company in the world, he would turn Willys into the world’s largest manufacturer of four- and six-cylinder engines. But, on Nov. 30, 1921, John Willys - in a clever stock manipulation to regain control of his company - threw the corporation into receivership. Disgusted, Chrysler left the company.

“Chrysler was a production man, and as such, he knew that volume and economies of scale were what made huge profits, particularly in an era of rising costs like the 1920s.”

While he was at Willys, another group of bankers had asked him to take over the formerly successful, but now failing, Maxwell Company. Now he could, and it began to thrive again. The Maxwell deal stipulated that if Chrysler could turn things around and raise the stock price, he would be able to obtain a major stake in the company. He viewed this as the springboard from which he could manufacture a car with his name on it.

“On October 16, 1928, Chrysler announced that he would build what would briefly become the tallest building in the world, and perhaps its most beautiful expression of Art Deco architecture: The Chrysler Building.”

Employing the Zeder Skelton Breer Engineering Company (started by three former Willys engineers in hopes of working with Chrysler in his own manufacturing firm) he ultimately did just that. The Chrysler Six, a "brand new kind of car," began rolling off the production line a week before Christmas, 1923. Historian Mark Howell calls the Chrysler Six "America’s First Modern Automobile," and claims that "this little machine stands second only to the Model T Ford in its revolutionary impact on the industry."

In an interview with the Saturday Evening Post, Chrysler listed all the car’s features and applauded his ZSB engineers: "They began with a clean slate, and designed from the ground up. There were none of the usual handicaps - no existing machinery, tools, jigs and dies to be considered; no pre-determined plant capacity or manufacturing lay out to fit to; no executive fads or whims to be satisfied. We have made no compromises... While owners will appreciate the fine features of our design, every engineer in the industry will know that they mean the highest quality job that can be built."

In the spring of 1925, Chrysler transformed Maxwell into the Chrysler Corporation. When his company bought Dodge in July 1928, Walter Chrysler realized yet another of his dreams: his firm was now one of the Big Three, the third-largest automobile company in the world. In the industry’s third decade, he had accomplished the apparently impossible: He expanded the number of enduring automotive manufacturing giants from two to three.

The Chrysler Corporation met the challenges of the Great Depression from 1929 through the ’30s, the labor strike of 1937, and the growing competition in the auto industry. Walter Chrysler resigned the presidency on July 22, 1935, at age 60, but retained his position as chairman of the board and CEO. He turned over the daily running of his company to hand-picked, tried and tested associates. On May 26, 1938, he suffered a stroke at his home on Long Island. At only 63, "all the years of too much work and too much play, without enough respite, had finally caught up with him." On Aug. 8, 1938, his wife, Della, had a cerebral hemorrhage, and despite doctor’s efforts, died that evening. Walter Chrysler was too ill to attend her funeral.

His health gradually deteriorated and, on Aug. 15, 1940, he suffered another stroke. He died Aug. 18, 1940, with his four children, his sister, Irene, and his doctors at his bedside.

About the Author

Vincent Curcio is also the author of Suicide Blonde a biography of Gloria Grahame. He lives in Union City, New Jersey.

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