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The Steam Tractor Encyclopedia: Glory Days of the Invention that Changed Farming Forever |  | Authors: John F. Spalding, Dr. Robert T. Rhode
Publisher: Voyageur Press
Category: Book
List Price: $40.00
Buy New: $29.20
as of 11/21/2009 09:01 EST details
You Save: $10.80 (27%)
New (15) Used (8) from $26.67
Seller: Amazon.com
Rating:  4 reviews
Sales Rank: 659368
Media: Hardcover
Edition: 1st
Pages: 256
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 3.5
Dimensions (in): 12 x 9.2 x 1.3
ISBN: 0760334730
Dewey Decimal Number: 629.2252
EAN: 9780760334737
ASIN: 0760334730
Publication Date: November 21, 2008
Shipping: Eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping
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Product Description
This book tells the story of the amazing transformation of farming brought about by the gigantic steam tractors that hauled agriculture into the modern era. Here is the first-ever thorough history of the steamers packed with more than 400 super-rare photographs and brochures that have taken years to collect. Before the advent of lightweight gasoline engines, steam tractors were met with awe. Even today, at threshing bees, county fairs, and tractor shows, these remarkable machines command great respect. This book gives readers and tractor fans a chance to linger over every detail of these marvelous--and now, all too rare--machines. Richly illustrated and meticulously detailed, each entry brings to the fore a steam tractor that in its day transformed the business of farming acre by acre and day by day. Book Description This book tells the story of the amazing transformation of farming brought about by the gigantic steam tractors that hauled agriculture into the modern era. Here is the first-ever thorough history of the steamers packed with more than 400 super-rare photographs and brochures that have taken years to collect. |
| Customer Reviews:
Steamed up August 24, 2009
Kevin P. Klein (Valley City, ND)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
This book was not what I expected, IT WAS BETTER! The information covered in this volume goes beyond what most wrightings of the subject tell about, plus the many many photographs contained in the book are more than worth the price.
After first looking through the pages and stopping at every one to take in the photos then go back and read the information, I never realized before that there had been so many manufactuers of American Traction Engines. Each chapter takes you throuh the ealy beginning of the perticular manufacturer, to the hight of their sucsess and the end of their exsitence.
The acompanying articles along with the pictures, make for a most interesting treasure trove of information,the stories are as facinating as are the pictures.
Although it is not full of techical information it is well worth having if you are interested in the subject like I am, get a copy, you will not be disapointed.
 The Steam Tractor Encyclopedia February 13, 2009
Steven Lang
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
This large format book gives a complete history of the different manufacturing companies that built steam traction & stationary steam engines, which took farms & industry out of the horse age. Aside from the very complete written histories of the various companies, this book adds great value with the wonderful collection of black & white photos. Not only does one see the engines, but we see their use with the people that worked with them & what these machines were able to do. The book is printed on good paper stock which helps with the nice photo reproductions & photo captions. At the end of the book is a chapter of photos of gas engines & gas tractors that came of age during the later part of the steam traction era.
Any one who likes steam or machinery in a quality book, should enjoy this one.
Wow February 13, 2009
Ed Johnston (State College, PA USA)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
You just can't find this wealth of information in one book any more. This book has it all. There aren't many of these machines left and even fewer people who have actually worked with them. I'll probably order another copy so I can pass them on to my grandsons so they can learn about the age of steam in American agriculture history.
Fantastic Human History December 9, 2008
Howard H. Raymond (wellfleet NE)
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
Steam Tractor Encyclopedia
The Glory days of the invention that changed farming forever
John F Spalding & Dr. Robert T Rhode
ISBN 978-0-7603-3473-7
No such thing as another lethargic account of endless facts and figures, this book exudes life itself. From the countless time period photographs to the well written and researched histories of the men and the factories that spit out these smoke belching behemoths you will lose yourself in the drama that unfolds page by page. Starting in the years preceding the great Civil War visionary business men toiled along side the common laborer to smelt the iron and shape it into useful and needed farm machines. Enduring shortages of material, financial woes, fire, drought, and floods they labored on and by success and failure made the mechanization of agriculture what we know today. Men like William Heilman, A. B. Farquhar, Oliver S. Kelly, and more are highlighted, interspersed with pictures that will take you back and lead you by the hand down dusty lanes, past threshing crews, sawmills, and heavy haulage where steam was king. Catch a glimpse of burly men and barefoot boys, bustled women and carefree girls, for after all, it is the people that make our lives large and meaningful. It's not so much about the machines and the collecting of the same but the friends we meet, the places we visit, and the memories we share.
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