Book excerpt: To farmers the world over, there's no tractor like a John Deere. The history of Deere's development of the farm tractor and its fight to be number one in the business is a fascinating tale - told here in complete detail through extensive research and interviews with the designers, engineers, dealers, and farms that made Deere famous. Author Randy Leffingwell traveled across the country photographing tractors from New England to California, bringing together hundreds of stunning color photos along with rare archival images. The full line of Deere tractors are presented, from early experimental models to the Waterloo Boy, the Model D, the Johnny Poppers, modern four- and six-cylinder models, and everything in between. Packed with colorful stories, anecdotes, and never-before-seen illustrations, John Deere is the ultimate tribute to the legendary American tractors.