From Library Journal
One would certainly expect that a book co-written by the head of Toyota's U.S. sales division would present a sanitized version of the history of the Toyota Motor Corporation. That suspicion aside, the work is an interesting and complex history of the founding and phenomenal growth of the Toyota Company. The reader will learn how the Japanese car industry struggled against the pressure of foreign imports, the devastating effects of World War II, and the lack of manufacturing materials and skills. The development of the company's manufacturing process and other innovations it had to initiate to survive are discussed at length. The writing is well done and easy enough for general readers. Industry experts will probably not find anything new here, but for the merely curious the book provides solid insight into the Japanese automobile industry.- Kenneth M. Locke, Radford, Va.Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
The much-touted concepts of kaizen (continuous improvement) and kanban (just in time) become clearer as the history of Toyota Motor Corporation--both here and in Japan--unfolds. Wartman begins with the 1853 demands of Commodore Perry to open up Eastern ports to trading and ends with the debut of the Lexus. In between, there's the story of the Toyota family, starting with inventor Sakichi, who defied his village background to found the Toyota Loom Works and instructed his son Kiichiro to pursue the dream of the automobile. Straightforward, nonjudgmental chapters cover such topics as Toyota's near bankruptcy, competition with Honda and Nissan, the U.S. mandate to reduce car emissions, and the joint venture with GM. Unfortunately, the lack of dialogue makes for some ho-hum reading; the determination to succeed and the risk-taking mind-set, however, provide lessons for would-be entrepreneurs. Barbara Jacobs

From Kirkus Reviews
A hit-and-run account of how Toyota grew from a small supplier of textile machinery into a world-class motor-vehicle manufacturer. In decidedly selective fashion, Togo (president of the company's US sales arm) and his American collaborator, Wartman (Playing Through, 1990, etc.), track the evolution of the Japanese colossus from its establishment in 1926 by Sakichi Toyoda up through its recent history. Along their apparently restricted way, the pair offer short takes on many significant corporate accomplishments, including development of just-in-time production techniques; commitment to kaizen (constant improvement); adoption of total quality control; amicable labor relations; and creation of the Lexus (which has made substantive inroads in luxury-car markets long dominated by BMW, Jaguar, and Mercedes-Benz). Covered as well are Toyota's well-planned campaigns to gain a foothold in the US, including its fruitful joint venture with GM--but glossed over are such sensitive subjects as the company's contributions to Japan's military during WW II and its considerable debt to the export- oriented industrial policies of government agencies like MITI. Nor do the authors provide any detail on the so-called transplant factory Toyota has built in America's rural South, and conspicuous by its absence also is any assessment of the auto/truck-maker's aspirations in the EC, as well as in neighboring Asian countries, most notably China. These and allied omissions will leave many wondering whether Toyota (which now has a fourth generation of the founding family near the top of its organizational chart) is indeed a player in areas of the global economy outside of Japan and North America. Favorably skewed perspectives on a consequential enterprise whose unabridged story has yet to be told. (Sixteen pages of photographs--not seen) -- Copyright ©1993, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

From Book News, Inc.
An engaging chronicle telling how the company was founded by the family of Sakichi Toyoda, who earned the capital to enter the automobile business by improving the efficiency of Japanese looms at the turn of the century. The narrative describes the company's important technical and management innovations, and tracks its rising star. No references. Annotation copyright Book News, Inc. Portland, Or.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

When Toyota introduced its new Lexus luxury cars in the United States in 1989, many experts predicted the line would sell poorly. Although journalists raved about the cars, skeptics insisted Americans would never pay thirty-five thousand dollars for any Japanese car - regardless of its acknowledged quality and value. But Toyota's innovative marketing and obsession with customer satisfaction soon made Lexus the top imported luxury car in the United States. Against All Odds is the incredible saga of how the family of an obscure Japanese textile-machine inventor revolutionized automobile production methods, while building a company that Fortune magazine has called "the best car maker in the world." Improvising such now-famous techniques as kaizen (or continuous improvement) and just-in-time production, and staying one step ahead of insolvency, the company worked incessantly to control costs - foreshadowing today's international business creed. But it wasn't until Toyota - whose early models were often fraught with defects - added total quality-control to its lean production methods that the company found real success with its early Corollas and Coronas. Against All Odds shows how the forces of necessity, fierce domestic competition, and Japanese provincial values combined to influence the development of the third largest auto manufacturer. It takes readers behind the mystery that has always shrouded Japanese corporations. There they'll discover the colorful personalities who built Toyota, and who helped to transform a country with a short industrial history into the second capital of the automotive world. This tale of personal determination and family rivalries is played out against the backdrop of Japan's political and economic development - and its relations with the United States. The massive shadow of the U.S. auto makers is omnipresent, teaching Toyota that an underdog in an industry of giants could only succeed by giving customers more than they wanted for l

FROM THE CRITICS

BookList - Barbara Jacobs

The much-touted concepts of "kaizen" (continuous improvement) and "kanban" (just in time) become clearer as the history of Toyota Motor Corporation--both here and in Japan--unfolds. Wartman begins with the 1853 demands of Commodore Perry to open up Eastern ports to trading and ends with the debut of the Lexus. In between, there's the story of the Toyota family, starting with inventor Sakichi, who defied his village background to found the Toyota Loom Works and instructed his son Kiichiro to pursue the dream of the automobile. Straightforward, nonjudgmental chapters cover such topics as Toyota's near bankruptcy, competition with Honda and Nissan, the U.S. mandate to reduce car emissions, and the joint venture with GM. Unfortunately, the lack of dialogue makes for some ho-hum reading; the determination to succeed and the risk-taking mind-set, however, provide lessons for would-be entrepreneurs.

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