Independent curation
Discover handpicked manuals, memoirs, and histories about tractors, soil, and life on the farm.
Save books you want to read and organize them into your own lists.
Start a listFrom the catalog
This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the original. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions that are true to the original work.
View details
<p>In 1953 International Harvester added a proto-SUV to their lineup: the Travelall. Several years later, someone at IH decided it was time for something different. Without any production definition to use as a guide, head designer Ted Ornas was told “design something to replace the horse”. The result was the famous Scout 80.<br><br>Making its debut in late 1960, the Scout set the stage for 4-wheel drive utility vehicles of the '70s, '80s, and '90s, and today enjoys cult-status among automotive and truck enthusiasts. Michael Banks documents the success story from the 1950s Travelall to the Scout 80, 800, 810, and Scout II versions, also covers variations like the Terra and Spirit.</p>
View details
<b>"Mr. Dahlstrom...has written a superb history of the tractor and this long-forgotten period of capitalism in U.S. agriculture. We now know the whole story of when farming, business and the free-market economy diverged, divided and conquered." <b>—<i>Wall Street Journal</i><br></b><br><b>Discover the untold story of the “tractor wars,” the twenty-year period that introduced power farming—the most fundamental change in world agriculture in hundreds of years.</b></b><br><br>Before John Deere, Ford, and International Harvester became icons of American business, they were competitors in a forgotten battle for the farm. From 1908-1928, against the backdrop of a world war and economic depression, these brands were engaged in a race to introduce the tractor and revolutionize farming. <br><br> By the turn of the twentieth century, four million people had left rural America and moved to cities, leaving the nation’s farms shorthanded for the work of plowing, planting, cultivating, harvesting, and threshing. That’s why the introduction of the tractor is an innovation story as essential as man’s landing on the moon or the advent of the internet—after all, with the tractor, a shrinking farm population could still feed a growing world. But getting the tractor from the boardroom to the drafting table, then from factory and the farm, was a technological and competitive battle that until now, has never been fully told.<br> <br>A researcher, historian, and writer, Neil Dahlstrom has spent decades in the corporate archives at John Deere. In <i>Tractor Wars</i>, Dahlstrom offers an insider’s view of a story that entwines a myriad of brands and characters, stakes and plots: the Reverend Daniel Hartsough, a pastor turned tractor designer; Alexander Legge, the eventual president of International Harvester, a former cowboy who took on Henry Ford; William Butterworth and the oft-at-odds leadership team at John Deere that partnered with the enigmatic Ford but planned for his ultimate failure. <br><br>With all the bitterness and drama of the race between Ford, Dodge, and General Motors, <i>Tractor Wars</i> is the untold story of industry stalwarts and disruptors, inventors, and administrators racing to invent modern agriculture—a power farming revolution that would usher in a whole new world.
View details
<p>This corporate history traces the development of the International Harvester Company, one of America's largest manufacturers of agricultural equipment. Packed with illustrations and first-hand accounts, this book will appeal to anyone interested in the history of American industry.</p><p>This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it.</p><p>This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.</p><p>Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.</p>
View details
<p>This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it.</p><p>This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.</p><p>Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. To ensure a quality reading experience, this work has been proofread and republished using a format that seamlessly blends the original graphical elements with text in an easy-to-read typeface.</p><p>We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.</p>
View details
<p>The story of the four-wheel-drive tractors built by Steiger, International Harvester, Case, and Case IH is told in dramatic fashion in this authoritative guide. Starting with the development of early four-wheel-drive systems at International Harvester, the book traces the evolution and design some of the most powerful and capable tractors of the twentieth century. With fresh detail on the 4300, 4100, Steiger-built IH tractors, and the 2+2 tractors including the Super 70 series, the book offers prototype drawings of several models--including the complete story of the never-before-published Magnum 2+2-- as well as inside stories and backroom drama that is a must for any enthusiast for farm history or tractors. <br><br>Learn the complete story of Steiger tractors, which were originally designed and built in the barn of John, Douglass, and Maurice Steiger located near Red Lake Falls, Minnesota. Containing interviews with more than 50 of the people who built Steiger from its humble origin to a world leader, the book traces the evolution of the lime green Steigers in engrossing detail. The book also covers the J.I. Case 4WD line in great detail. In addition, the book tells the story of how each of these significant players in the industry combined under one banner and--together--created one of the current industry-leading technologies, the Quadtrac. The modern evolution of the Steigers and the introduction of the STX Series (and more) also receive in-depth coverage.<br><br>The same team that created the award-winning books Red Tractors 1958-2013 and Red Combines 1915-2015 created this book, and notable new contributors include Sherry Schaefer (editor of Heritage Iron magazine) and noted historian Jim Allen. Contributors include Sherry Schaefer, Oscar H. Will III, Jim Allen, Kenneth Updike, Todd Markle, Gregg Montgomery, Guy Fay, Martin Rickatson, Sarah Tomac, Matthias Buschmann, Jean Cointe, Michael Osweiler, and Johann Dittmer.</p>
View details
This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work.<br><br>This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.<br><br>As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.
View details
International Harvester's Farmall tractor revolutionised farming around the world. Introduced in 1922, it was an inexpensive, lightweight, general-purpose, row-crop tractor that could literally farm all. Through the years, the Farmall became one of the world's most popular tractors. This book showcases collectible International Harvester tractors from the 1910s to the 1960s, including the famous Farmall, as well as other International Harvester and McCormick-Deering models. Readers will be captivated by Ralph Sander's detailed history and outstanding colour and black-and-white photographs, historical ads, and brochures of what was the world's best-selling tractor as well as a leader in innovation and engineering.
View details
In an examination of the disastrous fall of International Harvester Company, this book details the powerful forces that have undermined American industry and the dizzying succession of management blunders that are being repeated throughout American companies every day
View details
<p>This award-winning history of International Harvester and Case IH tractors includes data and photos of every model built from 1958, as well as in-depth information about how these tractors were designed and constructed.</p> <p>With interviews of engineers and executives, the book covers how the 40 and 60 series were created, and thoroughly covers the red tractors from the 1960s through the 1980s. The book also traces the innovations and struggles of the final days of International Harvester. The authors unearthed a treasure trove of concept drawings and photos of prototype machines to shed new light on how these tractors were created.</p> <p>The book includes the exciting story of the creation of the Case-IH Magnum, an innovative machine that blends some of the great engineering done by IH with the Cummins engine built by Case. The modern era of Case IH is also included, with the story of the creation of the Quadtrac as well as the entire line of tractors. With a mix of new photography of some of the most exceptional collectible models in existence along with hundreds of previously unpublished photographs, this thorough book is the most authoritative guide on red tractors ever published.</p>
View details
A magnificent collection of rare black & white photographs specially selected from public and private archives promote the unique characteristics of these popular tractors.<br> <br> Filled with informative captions providing histories of featured models. Construction scenes, farming, logging, mining and more.
View detailsBrowse by interest