Fordlandia encapsulates a monumental vision that became an epic failure: Henry Ford's dream to carve out a slice of the American way of life in the midst of the Brazilian Amazon. In 1927, the automotive titan purchased a vast expanse of the rainforest, envisioning a utopian rubber-producing town reflecting the values of small-town America. Fordlandia was to be a domain of efficiency, productivity, and Puritan values juxtaposed against the chaotic wilderness. What unfolded, however, was a tale of clashing worlds, as the indomitable Amazonian environment and culture resisted this imposition. The endeavor grappled with ecological ignorance, cultural misunderstandings, and the sheer hubris of trying to bend nature to human will. Eventually abandoned in decay, Fordlandia stands as a haunting testament to the limitations of industrial imperialism and the destructive consequences of unbridled capitalism. Greg Grandin delivers a sharp historical narrative, unraveling the complexities of this ambitious project and its reverberations on society and the natural world.