The history of Deere & Company is several stories at once. It is the
saga of an American folk hero remembered as the man "who gave to the
world the steel plow." John Deere's Company - Volume 1 is the story of
rural and small-town America from the time eastern farmers began moving
into the Midwest in the early 1800s, through the American industrial
revolution of the late 19th and up to the creation of the first John
Deere tractors.
It is also the story of an uncommon family whose members for 145 years
directed the destiny of one of America's oldest business firms--now the
largest agricultural machinery manufacturer in the world--until the
first nonfamily member, Robert Hanson, was named chief executive officer
of Deere in 1982.
The story follows the company's role in the extraordinary growth of the
American agricultural economy; its role in the discovery and application
of major innovations in machinery and manufacturing methods; and,
finally, its role in the sharing of that technology throughout the
world.
Those roles were influenced by the Populist movement in the 19th
century, by the early attempts of unions to organize the farm implement
industry, and by the competitive tactics and strategies of industrial
leaders whose companies battled each other for market share.
Wayne Broehl has taken these several historic threads and woven them
into this lively and absorbing historical account. The updated and
revised book has been divided into two volumes, this is Volume 1.
