My Life and Work by Henry Ford

I've read hundreds of books and articles on lean manufacturing, the Toyota Production System and manufacturing efficiencies. 

This book, written in 1923 is far and away the best of all.

Henry Ford never heard of lean manufacturing but he believed in it to his bones. The success of Ford Motor Company, on his 3rd attempt, is largely due to his fanaticism about cutting waste. 

This book explains in detail how and why.

I'm not the first one to say he invented the Toyota Production System. Norm Bodek of Productivity Press once told me that this book had never been out of print in Japanese. Yet it was out of print for 75 years until I had copies privately printed for my clients. 

If you can only read one book on  lean manufacturing, make it this one. 

The link goes to a free Amazon Kindle edition but on the same page you can order a paper copy if you prefer.