John Deere Evolution in Wall Street Journal New

We are thrilled to share that John Deere Evolution was featured in the Wall Street Journal on March 12, 2022! Reviewer Peter Saenger honed in on two of our favorite anecdotes that add to the book's "surprising amount of intrigue." Follow the links below to read both stories for a taste of some of the new content revealed in John Deere Evolution!

The review read: 

“JUST OVER A CENTURY AGO, Deere & Co. put its first tractor into production. The Waterloo Boy, named for the Iowa city where it was made, boasted a maximum speed of 2.5 mph, and originated the green-and-yellow color scheme that remains the company’s signature.

“Those colors pervade photographer Lee Klancher’s new book “John Deere Evolution” (Octane Press), which chronicles the development of the company’s tractors. The story involves a surprising amount of intrigue. In the early 1950s, Deere engineers created a powerful engine inside a former Waterloo grocery store, papering over the windows to defeat prying eyes and having food delivered to the back door to avoid attention. In the 1980s, Deere executives foiled a corporate spy who had climbed to a perch just below the roof of the Superdome in New Orleans to check out a confidential product launch.

“There have been other challenges. Around 1970, designer Chuck Pelly demonstrated a new model he was working on for Deere executives, though his tractor-driving ability was shaky. With Mr. Pelly at the wheel, the tractor ran over a parked car, spraying battery acid and forcing executives to hide behind trees. Still, the tractor, with a cab built to minimize operator fatigue, was a huge success.”

—Peter Saenger, Wall Street Journal, March 12, 2022

John Deere Evolution: The Spy (READ NOW)

John Deere Evolution: A Smashing Introduction (READ NOW)

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