Tractor ― The Story of the Innovative Machines, Engineering Genius, Secret Garages, and Midnight Schemes That Revolutionized Agricultural

This rollicking ride into machine history follows the innovators, entrepeneurs and hucksters who transformed our world with farm machines. Starting with the turn-of-the-century visionaries who saw that four wheels and a motor could replace for the horse, the book moves swiftly through key early developments to cover the power farming movement of the latter part of the 20th Century—a time when major manufacturers lagged behind and independent builders and farmers began creating their own solutions with a pencil drawing and a welder. The book includes stories of the butcher shop where John Deere secretly designed a completely new line of four-cylinder tractors, to the skullduggery and corporate raiding that took place in fields and back lots as company agents schemed to discover what their dirty ol’ competitors had up their sleeves. The book moves all the way up through the creation of the first tractor electronics, the merger movement of the 1980s, and the emergence of the high-technology innovations such as smart farms and auto-guidance which are changing the farm as we know it. This raucous, heartfelt book shines a light on some of the bright minds and innovative companies which emerged from the fertile fields of America’s heartland.

Lee Klancher's adventures in journalism have sent he and his camera out to climb Mount Triglav in the Julian Alps, explore breweries on four continents, and ride backcountry motorcycle routes in the Bolivian Amazon, the Australian Outback, and on the island of Hokkaido, Japan. He has appeared in Men's Journal, Draft, Motorcyclist, and dozens of books and calendars. His favorite subjects are independent craftspeople who earn their livings working with their hands and doing what they love.