Snoopy and the Spy

International Harvester vs John Deere Horsepower Race

On the farm fields of the late 1970s and early 1980s, the stakes had never been higher. The era marked one of the hardest economic environments of the twentieth century, and two of the world’s toughest competitors were locked in a high-horsepower arms race to create the world’s best piece of agricultural equipment.

For John Deere, winning meant maintaining global dominance. For International Harvester, winning would mean survival. For all the other ag equipment makers—well, it was mostly bad news.

In a big money game of poker, the two top makers bet on various new technologies and raced to build the best one first. The new machines were designed and built in secret spaces, then tested in dark pastures and remote corners of the world. They were transported carefully covered under tarps and rail cars . . . all in effort to keep them from the prying eyes and nimble cameras of the competition.

In this rollicking non-fiction trip back in time, the salesman, engineers, and executives who played the game offer firsthand accounts of how and why this techno-turf war was fought. As the game escalated, one salesman took matters into his own hands. In the name of company loyalty, he crossed a line he shouldn’t have and found himself deep in enemy territory.

Endorsements for Snoopy and the Spy

“I love this book! Snoopy and the Spy delivers a behind-the-scenes dramatic description of the development and introduction of International Harvester’s fascinating 2+2 as well as a look at one of the most interesting times in ag equipment history." 
— Dave Mowitz, editor, Successful Farming

“Lee Klancher’s gripping tale features high stakes, counterintelligence, and an odd-looking tractor that was crucial to a company whose fate hung in the balance. You won’t be able to put it down!” 
— Max Armstrong, broadcaster and television personality

Memorable Quotes from Snoopy and the Spy

“American farmers . . . have had two companies pour millions and billions of dollars in the product so that they can farm faster, cheaper, and better than anybody in the world.”
—IH sales executive Bud Youle

“IH was continually in the shadow of competition, primarily Deere. . . . We needed something spectacular.”
—IH engineer Don Murray

Some openly acknowledged that a good high-profile court case—ideally one with lots of lurid headlines—was an effective marketing tool. 
—Author Lee Klancher 

“‘You look ’em right in the eye and you tell ’em this: This is the ugliest thing God ever built.’”
—Bud Youle, about the 2+2 tractor

“Sir, you have twenty eight hundred and thirty-four tractors parked in my yard in San Antonio, Texas. You got one week to get ’em out.”
—Governor of Texas, in a phone call to Bud Youle

“I was scared. I mean, you had the sense you’d get fired on the spot if anybody knew about it.” 
—Engineering executive Glenn Kahle

“I said I’m not coming back for some Mickey Mouse job reporting to some young MBA.”
—IH executive Stanley Lancaster

“When you’re going to lose $700 million, like Harvester will this year, every little bit helps.”
—Analyst Eli S. Lustgaren

“He was going to put handcuffs on me. I said, ‘No, you’re not going to put those on me. No, no, no, no, no.’”
—Bud Youle

“We’ve caught him taking pictures and we don’t know whether we should shoot him or just let him go back to you.”
—Deere Executive, in a phone call to Harvester CEO Louis Menk

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