"McCormick's use of history provides an informative case study that illuminates the power of historical memory and explores how historians and their work intersected with the rise of modern capitalism. . . . This book will be of interest to anyone who studies agricultural, business, or public history."-Amanda L. Van Lanen, Western Historical Quarterly
"A fascinating account of one company's dedication to making its success seem not only natural but emblematic of shared American values. . . . Ott's analysis of McCormick/International Harvester's history is a moral tale well told."-Deborah Fitzgerald, Leverett Howell and William King Cutten Professor of the History of Technology at MIT
"Well researched, well written, and engaging. . . . A significant contribution to the study of historical memory."-David Blanke, author of Sowing the American Dream: How Consumer Culture Took Root in the Rural Midwest
"A fascinating story of farm technology, advertising, regional history, and mythmaking."-J. L. Anderson, author of Industrializing the Corn Belt: Agriculture, Technology, and Environment, 1945-1972
"Daniel Ott has pieced together the many lives of the McCormick reaper, illuminating stages that moved the machine out of the fields and into American consciousness."-Debra Reid, curator of agriculture and environment for The Henry Ford