THE WHEEL AND I (JOHN CREAN: DRIVING FLEETWOOD ENTERPRISES TO THE TOP)
By John Crean, with Jim Washburn. Hardcover, 436 pages; $25; available at By John Crean, with Jim Washburn. Hardcover, 436 pages; $30 postpaid; available at www.hotrange.com or from John C. Crean, PO Box 8449, Newport Beach, CA 92658-7452.
Leave it to OC business legend John Crean to do his autobiography his way, self-published, with second-rate photo reproduction, in a book whose leather binding, gilt-edged pages and gold place-marker ribbon is more reminiscent of a family Bible than a bestseller. Wrap it in a dust jacket that features a photograph of a smiling, red-white-and-blue-suited Crean superimposed like a giant Uncle Sam atop his beloved Bounder recreational vehicle, with an American flag waving in the background, and throw it into a box featuring a picture of the same, and you may find yourself questioning Crean’s sanity. Of course, they questioned Crean’s sanity when he first rolled out his oversized, gas-guzzling Bounder back in 1986, and it became the most successful RV ever. While the Bounder may have looked funny on the outside, it was a beauty inside, designed by a man who knew his customers and what they wanted. Similarly, for those who go out of their way to obtain Crean’s book and overlook its unusual appearance, this is a treasure trove of wisdom about living life and running a business, and a hell of a good story, to boot. With help from the OC Weekly’s Jim Washburn, the 74-year-old Crean covers it all with humor, insight and astonishing recall: from his hard-scrabble upbringing in the Depression through juvenile delinquency and escapades in the wartime Merchant Marine, to his entry into the trailer business and Fleetwood’s rise to the status of the nation’s top maker of RVs and manufactured housing. Crean details his struggle and triumph over alcoholism, his ups and downs in business, his segues into racing cars, producing Hollywood flops and starring in his own TV cooking show, and the gratification that comes from philanthropy, raising a family and devotion to one wife, Donna. This is John Crean at home on the free range, an unpretentious man of plain tastes and fierce intellect, who dispenses bouquets generously but readily harpoons sneaks, incompetents and, especially, pompous asses. Crean’s native genius is a marvel; this book contains enough pointers about marketing, finance, production, entrepreneurism and management to fill an MBA course. In an intriguing final chapter, Crean describes his failed attempt to take back his company, gets the last laugh on a Fleetwood whose fortunes have skidded since his departure and discusses his latest venture, affordable housing. You may even begin to appreciate the physical book itself. Take that page ribbon, a really handy way to mark your place. Shouldn’t more books have ’em?
