Overview
No tractor has achieved a more iconic status than John Deere. It's simple, two-cylinder tractors proved just the reliable, dependable tool the early 20th century American farmer needed to take the great leap from farming with animals to mechanized farming. Although a late comer to the motorized farming industry, today John Deere's two-cylinder tractors are the most sought after collector tractors in the world. Always a conservative company, John Deere stuck with its two-cylinder tractors into the middle part of the century, long after every other manufacturer had moved on to four- and six-cylinder tractors. Yet these simple, noble machines continued to serve their market. When John Deere entered the multi-cylinder fray, it did so with the most advanced, groundbreaking machines ever built — the New Generation tractors. These tractors set the trends for all subsequent tractor development through the latter half of the 20th century.Today John Deere stands alone as the last of the great American independent ag manufacturers. Yet it is still going strong, still setting trends, and still building the icons of the future.
Synopsis
Acclaimed author and photographer Randy Leffingwell uses his unique brand of storytelling to chronicle this amazing company and the machines that have carried its distinctive green and yellow livery. With details gathered from exclusive interviews and access to John Deeres company archives, Leffingwell searched out collectors with restored tractors, or those in superb original condition, to illustrate his text with over 300 beautiful color photographs. Also throughout the book are a number of archival photographs and exclusive never-before-seen drawings and writings from the journals of Theo Brown, head of Deeres Plow Works experimental division from 1916 to 1952, as well as other key figures in John Deeres history through the last century. For any fan of John Deere tractors or the history of farming in America, this officially-licensed coffee-table book is a fantastic journey of an icon over 150 years in the making.