Lean Thinking by Daniel T. Jones, James P. Womack (1996, Hardcover, Illustrated)

The downside to the book is that it was written in the mid-90's so alot of the current trends and current states of the companies in question are obviously obsolete. But the methodology of implementation of the lean philosophy in a company is timeless. They first give a run through of the history and basics of lean manufacturing, which is quite informative if you are new to the topic as I am, but can probably be skipped by those even moderately familiar with the area. They then procede to move through three major regions of the world, the US, Europe (Germany), and Japan. In America they tackle three different companies with varying histories, sizes, complications in manufacturing etc. This shows that their ideas are realistic for just about any firm in any area. In Germany they talk about one company, Porsche, but it was very insightful, and last and most surprising they discuss two Japanese firms and their struggles to implement Lean, Toyota (from post WWII to today) and another small manufacturing company much more recently. They are detailed without getting into the nuts and bolts, and I appreciate the authors delving into the history of each company, by understanding where each company is coming from, you can better understand why they had the difficulties they did and better appreciate their successes. On the whole, an outstanding text. In a few years it might be worth writing a similar book, just so the case studies and current world situation are more up to date.