Albert Kahn: Builder of Detroit Book

Albert Kahn was an architect at the dawn of the automobile age, when the Motor City came into its own. This biography tells young readers how he overcame numerous disadvantages to make that indelible mark. Raised in a poor family, Kahn's formal education ended when he was 12. He was colorblind and was fired from his first architectural job for "lack of talent." Yet through skill, determination, and self-confidence he turned hardship to advantage and realized his dream of becoming an architect.

Although Kahn attributed much of his success to the good fortune of being in the right place at the right time, he exemplified hard work and perseverance. Matuz's account conveys that example for young readers who can see the results of Kahn's determination in their own world.

A biography of the German-born Jewish architect who, from the 1880s through the early 1940s, designed elegant homes, factories for Henry Ford, and industrial plants to support the United States' war effort.