Books in Biography & Autobiography

Allis-Chalmers The Industrial Titan That Powered the 20th Century: From World War II to the Nuclear Age-How One Company Helped Build Modern America, Then Vanished

How does a billion-dollar company that powered cities, fed nations, and helped win wars just... disappear?Allis-Chalmers wasn't just a manufacturer. It was an empire of steel, innovation, and ambition-a name once etched into tractors, turbines, war machines, and nuclear reactors. From the dust of bankrupt iron foundries to the front lines of the Manhattan Project, Allis-Chalmers rose to become one of the most powerful and influential machinery giants in American history.And then, it vanished.In Allis-Chalmers: The Industrial Titan That Powered the 20th Century, you'll uncover the untold story of how a company that helped shape modern civilization collapsed into silence. With gripping narrative and deep historical insight, this book takes you inside: <ul><li>The rise of Edward P. Allis-from failed lawyer to industrial visionary</li><li>How the company revolutionized farming during the Great Depression</li><li>Their hidden role in building the atomic bomb</li><li>The secret visit by FDR during WWII</li><li>Their post-war boom into nuclear power and global energy</li><li>The labor strikes, legal wars, and leadership failures that broke the empire</li><li>The haunting final years-and what's left of Allis-Chalmers today</li></ul>This isn't just industrial history. It's a corporate thriller, a lesson in leadership, and a warning to every company that thinks success lasts forever.

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Birth, Death, and a Tractor Connecting An Old Farm To a New Family

IndieFab Book of the Year Award Winner! Maine Literary Award Winner! What happens when the last son leaves the farm, and the farmer grows old? Do the stories of six generations whisper into silence, as dust darkens the windows of the empty barn? Or can a young boy, running in yellow boots through abandoned fields, bring new life back to the farm? There is much to explore, and time to wonder. There is also, for a short while, a gentle old man, atop a faded John Deere tractor, and the possibility of connection... An unforgettable true story of history and hope on a small family farm in Somerville, Maine, from its settling in the early 1800s to its perilous transfer to a new farm family in 2008. Chronicling the history of seven generations, it is a reminder of the role small farms have played in our national and family histories, and a challenge to find innovative ways to re-connect our communities to this rich but threatened resource.

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Birth, Death, and a Tractor Connecting An Old Farm To a New Family

Once there were no stone walls. For the fiercely idealistic Yankee homesteader, a small family farm was worth fighting for, and the rocky soil yielded far more than walls. Cleared and plowed, it fed a family and provided a living. Oxen gave way to horses, horses to tractors, and still the farm persisted and the family persevered, each generation overcoming the challenges of their day. Two hundred years later, the farm, ever generous in its rewards, has not changed; but society has shifted, forgetting its connection to the land that nourishes us. It is time we remembered. Birth, Death and a Tractor is the story of a small family farm in Somerville, Maine, from its settling in the early 1800s to its perilous transfer to a new farm family in 2008. Chronicling the history of seven generations, it is a reminder of the role small farms have played in our national and family histories, and a challenge to find innovative ways to re-connect our communities to this rich but threatened resource.

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Bringing Allis Home Growing Up with an Allis-Chalmers WC in the Family

The first part of Bringing Allis Home provides nearly 30 episodes involving work on a typical mid-American farm in the 1940s and 50s with a much-loved family friend, an Allis-Chalmers WC. The second part contains various episodes in recent times that involve the young boy who is telling the stories in the first part. The young boy is now retired and attempts to take a similar tractor back to his home farm for one more tractor ride across the fields there. The return trip turned out not to be as easily done as he had thought.

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Gaining Ground A Story Of Farmers' Markets, Local Food, And Saving The Family Farm

With humor and pathos, Forrest Pritchard recounts his ambitious and often hilarious endeavors to save his family’s seventh-generation farm in the Shenandoah Valley. Through many a trial and error, he not only saves Smith Meadows from insolvency but turns it into a leading light in the sustainable, grass-fed, organic farm-to-market community. There is nothing young Farmer Pritchard won’t try. Whether he’s selling firewood and straw, raising free-range chickens and hogs, or acquiring a flock of Barbados Blackbelly sheep, his learning curve is steep and always entertaining. Pritchard’s world crackles with colorful local characters—farm hands, butchers, market managers, customers, fellow vendors, pet goats, policemen—bringing the story to warm, communal life. His most important ally, however, is his renegade father, who initially questions his son's career choice and eschews organic foods for the generic kinds that wreak havoc on his health. Soon after his father’s death, the farm becomes a recognized success and Pritchard must make a vital decision: to continue serving the local community or answer the exploding demand for his wares with lucrative Internet sales and shipping deals. More than a charming story of honest food cultivation and farmers’ markets, Gaining Ground tugs on the heartstrings, reconnecting us to the land and the many lives that feed us.

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Growing Food God's Way How Paul Gautschi Grows Superior Food and You Can Too!

Growing Food God's Way is a compelling biography of accomplished gardener and arborist Paul Gautschi. Known world-wide for his connection with God's world of nature from the viral documrntary: Back to Eden. This authorized work explores the man and his wildly successful garden and orchard...while applying revealed principles to guide our daily lives as well. This is not a book about gardening, it is a book about life and wisdom, as experienced by Paul and many others. Home gardeners in 208 countries agree that you can grow better produce with much less cost and less work if you do it God's way. The 2nd edition updates most chapters and adds six new chapters! There are now 107 photos, a new bibliography, and a new Index to help you find what you're looking for.

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John Deere

Born in Rutland, Vermont, John Deere served a four-year apprenticeship to a blacksmith and worked in that trade until 1837.The implements being used by pioneer farmers of that day were cumbersome and ineffective for cutting and turning the prairie soil.To alleviate the problem, Deere and a partner, Major Leonard Andrus, designed three new plows in 1838.The plow was so successful that by 1846 Deere and his partner were selling a thousand a year.Deere then sold his interest to Andrus and organized a plow company in Moline, Illinois.After experimenting with imported English steel, he had a cast steel plow made for him in Pittsburgh.By 1855 he was selling more than 13,000 such plows a year.In 1868 his business was incorporated as Deere & Company, which is still in existence today.

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John Deere

Introduces the life of John Deere, including his childhood on a Vermont farm, his work as a tanner and blacksmith apprentice, and his invention of a new, more efficient type of plow that eventually led to his founding a company and opening his own factory.

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John Deere He Gave to the World the Steel Plow

This is a new release of the original 1937 edition.

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John Deere Plowing Pioneer

John Deere - the name is known all over the country. Did you know John Deere is more than just a tractor company? John Deere was a blacksmith from Vermont! His invention of the self-polishing steel plow was just the beginning of a long and successful career. These popular readers include easy-to-read information, fun facts and trivia, humor, activities and a whole lot more. They are great for ages 7-12 (grades 2-6), because although simple, these readers have substance and really engage kids with their stories. They are great for social studies, meeting state and national curriculum standards, individual and group reading programs, centers, library programs, and have many other terrific educational uses. Get the Answer Key for the Quizzes! Click HERE.

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John Deere, That's Who!

Back in the 1830s, who was a young blacksmith from Vermont, about to make his mark on American history? John Deere, that’s who! Who moved to Illinois, where farmers were struggling to plow through the thick, rich soil they called gumbo? Who tinkered and tweaked and tested until he invented a steel plow that sliced into the prairie easy as you please? Long before the first tractor, who changed farming forever? John Deere, that’s who! Beautiful illustrations—including spectacular landscapes—reflect the time period and bring John Deere's remarkable story to life.

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My Mother is a Tractor A Life in Rural Japan

Less than six months after throwing in his management job to take up teaching Nicholas Klar finds himself on the 'JET Program' and a plane to Japan - ending up in the far reaches of rural Niigata prefecture teaching English. Never one to be taken too seriously he spends his time far beyond the beaten tourist path in often carousing encounters with Elvis impersonators, love hotels, toilets, train schedules, cults, hostess girls, freezing weather, the local garbage-man and postal workers, plus an awful lot of drinking and the recording of a bizarre incident where a cow falls out of the sky. Combining humour, wonder, social commentary and a good deal of eclectic research the author veritably crams his pages chock-full of tales of culture shock, humorous anecdotes and insights, reflections upon his own life and cultural baggage, strange facts, plus cultural incongruities and marvels. He inevitably falls in with a motley crew of acquaintances along the way and revealed are many of the personalities he encounters - both Japanese and foreigners. My Mother is a Tractor is rollicking, fact-filled ride through the Land of the Rising Sun that will amuse and inform all - from Japanofiles to the merely curious. If you are "signing up" for Japan this book has been rated a .."must read" by Rough Guide Japan and The Crazy Japan Times.

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Pioneer Plowmaker A Story about John Deere

In the 1800s, the moist soil of the Midwest would stick to plow blades, stopping the farmers as they plowed. Young blacksmith John Deere knew about the problem, so he designed and built a self-scouring plow. With this small start, he founded the famous farm implement company Deere & Company and started down the road to success.

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Pioneer Plowmaker A Story about John Deere

A biography of the inventor and manufacturer who produced one of the first self-scouring plows.

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Pioneer Plowmaker A Story about John Deere

A biography of the inventor and manufacturer who produced one of the first self-scouring plows.

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Pioneer Plowmaker A Story About John Deere

Carolrhoda's best-selling Creative Minds Biographies series appeals to a wide range of readers. Written in story format, these biographies also include inviting black-and-white illustrations.

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Pioneer Plowmaker The Story About John Deere

In the 1800s, the moist soil of the Midwest would stick to plow blades, stopping the farmers as they plowed. Young blacksmith John Deere knew about the problem, so he designed and built a self-scouring plow. With this small start, he founded the famous farm implement company Deere & Company and started down the road to success.

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Recipe Journal Notebook Farm Farming Hard Work Quote Tractor Cow Funny Farmer

A custom recipe book to preserve your cherished memories of food, friendship, and family. This keepsake family cookbook makes it easy to collect all your most beloved recipes in one place so you, or someone you love, can make and share them for years to come. Whether it's a generations-old recipe for a holiday specialty, or just a favorite weeknight side dish, the meals that mean something to you can now live on in a simple, beautiful book your family can pass down. There's room for up to 114 pages and 6 x 9 inches in size, with space to record notes like who the recipe came from, who added it to the book, and what makes it special, so your traditions will never be lost. The meals - and the memories - will live on. Create a culinary legacy and a new piece of your history with a family cookbook that's fun to fill and share. This elegant book will help you record and organize all of your family recipes, favorite recipes, and cooking notes. It will also make a lovely gift for family and friends!

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The Devil Can Ride The World's Best Motorcycle Writing

Authors such as Hunter Thompson, Robert Pirsig, and Mark Singer have written about the motorcycle, that icon for outlaws, rebels, thieves, and beat poets. This collection of motorcycle tales features the best of the vast collection of motorcycle writing created since old Gottlieb Daimler first bolted a crude internal-combustion engine to his wooden two-wheeled Einspur in 1876. In addition to essays from Thompson and Pirsig, The Devil Can Ride features works by Peter Egan, T.E. Lawrence, James Stevenson, Jamie Elvidge, John Hall, and Kevin Cameron.

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The Field Guide to John Deere Tractors

When you're "out in the field" scouting for John Deere tractors, don't forget to take along this first-ever full-color pocket guidebook to these popular tractors! This convenient, easy-to-use guide puts a wealth of information right into your hands! You'll find brief histories, model runs, specification details, and eye-catching color photographs of more than 500 models of John Deere tractors, from the two-cylinder series of 1892 to the latest multi-cylinder models.

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The Green Life Beyond the Tractor Seat

(Black and White edition - also available in colour) Have you ever wondered what it takes to live the dream 'Green Life'? Author Derek Palmer shares the real-life story of how he and his wife turned 50 acres of scrubland into a sustainable, organic farming enterprise. A married couple, nearing retirement age find themselves in the middle of an Aussie bush block, living in an old caravan among rogue cattle, wild dogs and snakes. Through the years of the trials and tribulations that follow, these 50 acres of scrub evolve into "Loradel Park" - a viable, sustainable and organic farm and home. An inspiring story revealing family love, strong friendships, innovation and an undying determination to succeed. It expresses the sheer joy and heartbreak, the successes and failures that go hand in hand with life on the land and introduces some incredible characters, both two-legged and four. Including hands-on know-how and observations gleaned over the years, this book offers an example or illustration of a sustainable lifestyle and hopefully will encourage others who are contemplating living the 'Green Life'.

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The International Harvester Company A History of the Founding Families and Their Machines

Ancient farmers used draft animals for plowing but the heavy work of harvesting fell to the humans, using sickle and scythe. Change came in the mid-19th century when Cyrus Hall McCormick built the mechanical harvester. Though the McCormicks used their wealth to establish art collections and universities, battle disease, and develop birth control, members of the family faced constant scrutiny and scandal. This book recounts their story as well as the history of the International Harvester Company (IHC)--a merger of the McCormick and Deering companies and the world's leader in agricultural machinery in the 1900s.

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The John Deere Story A Biography of Plowmakers John & Charles Deere

Today, John Deere is remembered-some say mistakenly-as the inventor of the steel plow. Who was this legendary man and how did he create the internationally renowned company that still bears his name? He began as a debt-stricken blacksmith who, fleeing debt in New England in the 1830s, set up shop in a little town on the Illinois frontier. There, in response to farmers' struggles, he designed a new plow that cut through the impervious prairie sod and lay open the rich, heavy soil for planting. The demand for his polished steel plow convinced him to specialize in farm implements. In the decades before the Civil War, John Deere envisioned a company supplying midwestern farmers with reliable, affordable equipment. He used only high quality, imported steel and resisted pressure to raise prices. At the same time, he won respectful affection from his employees by working alongside them on the shop floor. Upon taking the helm in the 1860s, John's only surviving son, Charles, expanded the Moline factories to increase production, started branch houses in major midwestern cities to speed distribution, and began to transform the company into a modern corporation. The transformation didn't come without difficulties however: Charles found himself battling the Grange, facing threats of labor unions and strikes led by his own employees, and enduring patent suits and blatant thefts of product designs and advertising.

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This Tractor Life A Memoir of Food, Wine and Woofers at Oranje Tractor Farm

Oranje Tractor Farm is home to a micro-boutique vineyard, orchard, house and cellar door near Albany on the pristine south coast of Western Australia. The owners, Pamela Lincoln and Murray Gomm, acquired a cow paddock in 1996 and have gradually, organically - and with the help of many hundreds of guests known as woofers - converted it into a productive, green oasis.Written by Pamela Lincoln - a Jill of many trades, master (or should that be mistress?) of none. Well, actually, she does have a Master's degree in health and is also a nutritionist, winemaker and home-cook, and probably a gastronomist, having recently completed a diploma of gastronomy in France. Pamela has started farmers markets in her home town of Albany, Western Australia and has toured the wine regions of USA and Europe, courtesy of a couple of wonderful awards as well as her own, regular independent travels. One was the Churchill Fellowship in 2002, and another the Vin de Champagne Award in 2004. Since 2000, Pamela and her partner (and husband) Murray have hosted hundreds of backpackers under the Workaway and WWOOFing schemes (Willing Workers On Organic Farms) at their lovingly DIY-built passive solar home nestled among the extensive organic garden and surrounding vineyard. She has written for publication in peer-reviewed journals, and has written countless funding submissions for a variety of audiences. Pamela also had a radio show on Food & Wine in the late 90s, but this is her first shot at writing a cookbook. She hopes you enjoy it as much as she has writing it.The book is divided into seasons, each featuring some stories and delicious recipes. The majority of recipes are those exchanged with the author by their guests - the woofers - and enjoyed around a convivial table. All recipes are tested and have been replicated at least twice by the author prior to publication. Most are not complex so are suitable for day-to-day preparation.

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