Book excerpt: The passion for invention is a deeply ingrained part of American culture. In the decades after our independence, the new nation burst with names every schoolchild should learn: Robert Fulton, Eli Whitney, Samuel Morse-and above all, Cyrus McCormick. Cyrus McCormick, inventor of the first mechanical reaper, liberated the American farmer, and changed the course of history. Until 1831, when he marketed the first truly practical machine, grain was still harvested as it had been in the time of the Pharaohs. McCormick also pioneered modern sales and marketing techniques, and as the twentieth century dawned, his McCormick Harvesting Machine Company became International Harvester, an industrial powerhouse ranked with U.S. Steel and Standard Oil. Celebrating this year its 175th anniversary, McCormick's company, now Navistar International, has been a vital force in the American landscape, its tractors and trucks crucial to its industrial development. Milestones is the first fully illustrated history of the rich heritage of Navistar International, from its founding by Cyrus McCormick to its vitality today. This lavishly illustrated, oversized volume is packed with original photography, nostalgic advertising, fascinating detail and history, and American pride.