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The John Deere Story: A Biography of Plowmakers John and Charles Deere
Today, John Deere is remembered-some say mistakenly-as the inventor of the steel plow. Who was this legendary man and how did he create the internationally renowned company that still bears his name? He began as a debt-stricken blacksmith who, fleeing debt in New England in the 1830s, set up shop in a little town on the Illinois frontier. There, in response to farmers' struggles, he designed a new plow that cut through the impervious prairie sod and lay open the rich, heavy soil for planting. The demand for his polished steel plow convinced him to specialize in farm implements.
In the decades before the Civil War, John Deere envisioned a company supplying midwestern farmers with reliable, affordable equipment. He used only high quality, imported steel and resisted pressure to raise prices. At the same time, he won respectful affection from his employees by working alongside them on the shop floor. Upon taking the helm in the 1860s, John's only surviving son, Charles, expanded the Moline factories to increase production, started branch houses in major midwestern cities to speed distribution, and began to transform the company into a modern corporation. The transformation didn't come without difficulties however: Charles found himself battling the Grange, facing threats of labor unions and strikes led by his own employees, and enduring patent suits and blatant thefts of product designs and advertising.
In the decades before the Civil War, John Deere envisioned a company supplying midwestern farmers with reliable, affordable equipment. He used only high quality, imported steel and resisted pressure to raise prices. At the same time, he won respectful affection from his employees by working alongside them on the shop floor. Upon taking the helm in the 1860s, John's only surviving son, Charles, expanded the Moline factories to increase production, started branch houses in major midwestern cities to speed distribution, and began to transform the company into a modern corporation. The transformation didn't come without difficulties however: Charles found himself battling the Grange, facing threats of labor unions and strikes led by his own employees, and enduring patent suits and blatant thefts of product designs and advertising.
224 pages, Hardcover
First published March 31, 2005
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
February 20, 2013
This was an intersting book to read. As an old farm boy, I knew about John Deere tactors, but not about the man. This was good start to understanding the early years of the John Deere company.
According to the book jacket, the author started out to a biography of Charles Deere but felt the need to include his father John. I agree. He was important figure in the story. I was hoping that there would be more on John. The book was only 178 pages, so I felt that some details may have bee skipped over. Then again, there may not have been much resurce material. John came from humble beginnings and writing it down would not have bee important.
I recommend the book. It is a good start for understanding the early history of the John Deere Company and the early history of the industrial age of North America.
According to the book jacket, the author started out to a biography of Charles Deere but felt the need to include his father John. I agree. He was important figure in the story. I was hoping that there would be more on John. The book was only 178 pages, so I felt that some details may have bee skipped over. Then again, there may not have been much resurce material. John came from humble beginnings and writing it down would not have bee important.
I recommend the book. It is a good start for understanding the early history of the John Deere Company and the early history of the industrial age of North America.
March 28, 2018
My reaction to this book is highly personal — I do not come from a farm family, don’t know much about plows, and have never farmed. So I’m coming from a fairly blank slate. That might be why I found this book, nicely compact as it is, a slog. I had to keep stopping to figure out what a word like “plowshare” or “moldboard” means. The names of different farm implements meant little or nothing to me (clipper plow vs. breaker plow? Harrows? A riding cultivator?)
I can imagine, though, that for someone with farming experience or familiar with John Deere equipment, this would be fascinating.
Once I dug through that (and all the many names that come at you), this is overall a terrific book. The writing is unquestionably lively and quite engaging. They do a nice job covering the history of these two men’s lives, along with the history of Deere & Company and, in a sense, the development of Moline, IL.
The most remarkable thing, to me, is not so much that the notion that John Deere invented the steel plow is just a myth (though that is fascinating and well-explored here), but that both John and Charles led their company with remarkably strong attention to ethics and morality (product quality and dogged persistence/hard work in the case of John, a preference for cooperation and partnerships over ruthlessness and trust-building in the case of Charles). I came away feeling that Charles Deere certainly deserves to be better remembered. And both ought to be better known as examples of successful entrepreneurship and successful industry leadership.
I can imagine, though, that for someone with farming experience or familiar with John Deere equipment, this would be fascinating.
Once I dug through that (and all the many names that come at you), this is overall a terrific book. The writing is unquestionably lively and quite engaging. They do a nice job covering the history of these two men’s lives, along with the history of Deere & Company and, in a sense, the development of Moline, IL.
The most remarkable thing, to me, is not so much that the notion that John Deere invented the steel plow is just a myth (though that is fascinating and well-explored here), but that both John and Charles led their company with remarkably strong attention to ethics and morality (product quality and dogged persistence/hard work in the case of John, a preference for cooperation and partnerships over ruthlessness and trust-building in the case of Charles). I came away feeling that Charles Deere certainly deserves to be better remembered. And both ought to be better known as examples of successful entrepreneurship and successful industry leadership.
June 4, 2017
If you are interested in history in any way I recommend this book, I am a retired
Deere & Co employee, currently working as a Deere & Co tour guide - this book gave me a lot of history about the founders of the company and the era in which the company was formed. You will learn so much of the struggles that both John Deere and his son Charles had to endure, you will not be disappointed that you picked this book up to read.
Deere & Co employee, currently working as a Deere & Co tour guide - this book gave me a lot of history about the founders of the company and the era in which the company was formed. You will learn so much of the struggles that both John Deere and his son Charles had to endure, you will not be disappointed that you picked this book up to read.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews