Eventually becoming the thirty-eighth president of the United States, Gerald R. Ford (1913-2006) grew up in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and by all accounts modeled exemplary behavior. In this biography Hendrik Booraem carefully examines this image and the reputation that Ford earned during his early years, covering Ford's life up until his graduation from the University of Michigan in 1935.Based on in-depth research -- from newspapers, census data, local histories, and personal interviews with some twenty people who knew Ford -- Booraem delves into the milieus in which Ford grew up, urban western Michigan and Ann Arbor of the 1920's and '30s, and explores how Ford's character was shaped by family, school, church, and community influences. Highlighting the achievements and exemplary personal qualities that laid the ground for Gerald Ford's successful political career, The Education of Gerald Ford offers fascinating insight into the early years of this president.