Tractor Wars: John Deere, Henry Ford, International Harvester, and the Birth of Modern Agriculture
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Tractor Wars: John Deere, Henry Ford, International Harvester, and the Birth of Modern Agriculture

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  • 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. —Wall Street Journal

    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.

    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.

    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.

    A researcher, historian, and writer, Neil Dahlstrom has spent decades in the corporate archives at John Deere. InTractor Wars, 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.

    With all the bitterness and drama of the race between Ford, Dodge, and General Motors,Tractor Warsis 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.Neil Dahlstromis the author of The John Deere Story: A Biography of Plowmakers John and Charles Deere (Northern Illinois University Press, 2005), and Lincoln’s Wrath: Fierce Mobs, Brilliant Scoundrels, and a President’s Mission to Destroy the Press (Sourcebooks, 2005). Since the release of these two books he’s built a career in corporate archives, agricultural and brand history. Today, Neil the Manager of Archives and History at John Deere, the most well-known agriculture equipment brand in the world.

    Recently, Neil has held a variety of leadership positions in archival organizations, with colleagues in some of the most prestigious archives and museums. Currently, he’s a member of the Kitchen Cabinet, the Food and Agriculture Advisory Board of The Smithsonian National Museum of American History, and chair of the Society of American Archivists Business Archives Section, which includes more than five hundred corporate archivists.
  • Dahlstrom, Neil
  • ISBN: 9781953295743
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Comparison Chart:
Book formatHardcoverTractor Wars: John Deere, Henry Ford, International Harvester, and the Birth of Modern AgriculturePaperbackVehicles Llibre per Pintar: Cotxes, tractor, tren, avió per pintar per a nens a partir de 3 anys, (Paperback)HardcoverThe John Deere Story, (Hardcover)PaperbackLes Floralies Gantoises De 1903 (Paperback)PaperbackThe 2026 Old Farmer's Almanac Trade Edition (Paperback)PaperbackThe 2026 Old Farmer's Almanac (Paperback)PaperbackTractor ABCs, Tractor ABC Book, Tractor Book: Tractor ABC Book For Kids, ABC Book, (Paperback)HardcoverPre-Owned John Deere Kids Good Night, Tractor (Board Book)PaperbackAmerican Journey: On the Road with Henry Ford, Thomas Edison, and John Burroughs, (Paperback)
Fiction/nonfictionFictionTractor Wars: John Deere, Henry Ford, International Harvester, and the Birth of Modern AgricultureNon-FictionVehicles Llibre per Pintar: Cotxes, tractor, tren, avió per pintar per a nens a partir de 3 anys, (Paperback)Non-FictionThe John Deere Story, (Hardcover)Non-FictionLes Floralies Gantoises De 1903 (Paperback)Non-FictionThe 2026 Old Farmer's Almanac Trade Edition (Paperback)Non-FictionThe 2026 Old Farmer's Almanac (Paperback)Non-FictionTractor ABCs, Tractor ABC Book, Tractor Book: Tractor ABC Book For Kids, ABC Book, (Paperback)FictionPre-Owned John Deere Kids Good Night, Tractor (Board Book)Non-FictionAmerican Journey: On the Road with Henry Ford, Thomas Edison, and John Burroughs, (Paperback)
GenreBusiness & InvestingTractor Wars: John Deere, Henry Ford, International Harvester, and the Birth of Modern AgricultureChildren's BooksVehicles Llibre per Pintar: Cotxes, tractor, tren, avió per pintar per a nens a partir de 3 anys, (Paperback)Biography & MemoirsThe John Deere Story, (Hardcover)HistoryLes Floralies Gantoises De 1903 (Paperback)TextbooksThe 2026 Old Farmer's Almanac Trade Edition (Paperback)TextbooksThe 2026 Old Farmer's Almanac (Paperback)Children's BooksTractor ABCs, Tractor ABC Book, Tractor Book: Tractor ABC Book For Kids, ABC Book, (Paperback)Children's BooksPre-Owned John Deere Kids Good Night, Tractor (Board Book)HistoryAmerican Journey: On the Road with Henry Ford, Thomas Edison, and John Burroughs, (Paperback)
Pub date2022-01-01T20:52:46ZTractor Wars: John Deere, Henry Ford, International Harvester, and the Birth of Modern Agriculture-Vehicles Llibre per Pintar: Cotxes, tractor, tren, avió per pintar per a nens a partir de 3 anys, (Paperback)2005-03-31The John Deere Story, (Hardcover)1903Les Floralies Gantoises De 1903 (Paperback)1900-01-01T06:00:00ZThe 2026 Old Farmer's Almanac Trade Edition (Paperback)1900-01-01T06:00:00ZThe 2026 Old Farmer's Almanac (Paperback)2025-11-10Tractor ABCs, Tractor ABC Book, Tractor Book: Tractor ABC Book For Kids, ABC Book, (Paperback)-Pre-Owned John Deere Kids Good Night, Tractor (Board Book)2024-11-26American Journey: On the Road with Henry Ford, Thomas Edison, and John Burroughs, (Paperback)
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Mar 11, 2022
Granny
5 out of 5 stars review

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I bought this for my husband, and he seems to like it. Got it cheaper through Wal-Mart.

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Feb 13, 2023
Lee
5 out of 5 stars review

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Tractor Wars for the win!

Love this book! So much history. My grandpa loves it. Great price at Wal-mart.

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