Explore our curated list of farming and tractor history books.
<i>Dream Reaper</i> follows Mark Underwood, farmer and inventor, and his salesman cousin as they strive to perfect and market Mark's breakthrough invention, the Bi-Rotor combine.<br> <br> "This intriguing tale weaves together the creativity and ingenuity of an inventor and the hurdles he and his partner face in selling and producing what appears to be an amazingly efficient Bi-Rotor combine."—<i>Science News</i><br> <br> "Canine writes with style and flourish. . . <i>Dream Reaper</i> is a riveting journey into America's heartland, where necessity is the mother of invention—and hard work, conviction, and sacrifice are its lifeblood."—<i>People Magazine</i><br> <br> "Canine deftly interweaves the story of the two men's struggles with a history of the mechanization of agriculture. This lively account of men working under pressure, improvising repairs and demonstrating the new machine, is also a story of courage that illustrates the barriers facing an independent inventor."—<i>Publishers Weekly</i><br> <br> "Craig Canine's <i>Dream Reaper</i> is a delight. It's an important book, rich with history and stories. It brings our most essential industry—farming—into new perspective. Reading it made me want to get out a crop."—Bobbie Ann Mason<br> <br> A volume in the Sloan Technology Series. The series presents to a general audience highly readable accounts of the development of 20th century technologies and the ways these have shaped and are shaped by society.
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<p>Back in the 1830s, who was a young blacksmith from Vermont, about to make his mark on American history? John Deere, that’s who!<br><br>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?<br><br>Long before the first tractor, who changed farming forever? John Deere, that’s who!<br><br>Beautiful illustrations—including spectacular landscapes—reflect the time period and bring John Deere's remarkable story to life.</p>
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