Stagecoach: Wells Fargo and the American West
by Philip L. Fradkin, Andy Anderson
Stagecoach - Wells Fargo (1)
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Description
From award-winning writer Philip L. Fradkin, the fascinating story of the rise of Wells Fargo & Co., told against the wildest and most colorful backdrop in American history, the Old West. The trail of Wells Fargo runs through nearly every imaginable landscape and icon of Old West folklore: the California gold rush, the Pony Express, the transcontinental railroad, the Civil and Indian Wars. From the Great Plains to the Rockies to the Pacific Ocean, the company's operations embraced almost all show more social, cultural, and economic activities west of the Mississippi, following one of the greatest migrations in American history. Fortune-seekers arriving in California after the discovery of gold in 1849 couldn't bring the necessities of home with them. So Wells Fargo express offices began providing basic services such as the exchange of gold dust for coin, short-term deposits and loans, and reliable delivery and receipt of letters, money, and goods to distant places. As its reputation for speed and dependability grew, the sight of a red and yellow Wells Fargo stagecoach racing across the prairie came to symbolize not only safe passage, but faith in a nation's progress. Stagecoach is a fascinating and rare combination of Western and business history. Along with its colorful association with the Old West -- Wyatt Earp, Black Bart, Buffalo Bill -- readers will discover that swiftness, security, and connectivity have been constants in Wells Fargo's history, and that these themes remain just as important today, 150 years later. show lessTags
Recommendations
Member Reviews
Not a bad book, but it tries to cover so much of the Wells Fargo history it has to skim or ignore certain areas. The book is more of an anecdotal history so it is a fairly easy read but it feels a bit unsatisfying.
Entertaining while being full of details of historical moments in the history of the American West. If you want to know what really happened at the fight at the O. K. Corral, read Fradkin's version. He also provides a detailed explanation of the development and history of the Pony Express.
The book follows the history of Wells Fargo from stagecoach and express company to the first company to develop and use refrigeration rail cars to move fresh fruits and vegetables across the Continent. Wells Fargo's survival as a very successful bank today is also chronicled. A wonderful and readable book.
The book follows the history of Wells Fargo from stagecoach and express company to the first company to develop and use refrigeration rail cars to move fresh fruits and vegetables across the Continent. Wells Fargo's survival as a very successful bank today is also chronicled. A wonderful and readable book.
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Author Information
16+ Works 698 Members
Philip L. Fradkin is the author of eight critically acclaimed nonfiction books on the American West and Alaska. At the Los Angeles Times he shared a Pulitzer Prize for coverage of the Watts racial conflict, was a correspondent in Vietnam, and was the newspaper's first environmental writer. Fradkin was the assistant secretary of the California show more Resources Agency and western editor of Audubon magazine. He has taught writing courses at the University of California at Berkeley, where he is a consultant to the Bancroft Library, and a California history course at Stanford University. He lives on the coast north of San Francisco show less
6 Works 77 Members
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Common Knowledge
- Original title
- Stagecoach: Wells Fargo and the American West
- Important places
- San Francisco, California, USA; New York, New York, USA
- Dedication
- For Patricia
- Disambiguation notice
- ISBN 0743227972 is for the 2-in-1: Wells Fargo and the American West AND Wells Fargo and the Rise of the American Financial Services Industry
Classifications
- Genres
- Nonfiction, History, Business, General Nonfiction
- DDC/MDS
- 388.3 — Society, government, & culture Commerce, communications & transportation regulations Transportation Vehicular transportation
- LCC
- HE5903 .W5 .F73 — Social sciences Transportation and communications Transportation and communications Express service
- BISAC
Statistics
- Members
- 96
- Popularity
- 336,630
- Reviews
- 2
- Rating
- (2.86)
- Languages
- English
- Media
- Paper, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 4
- ASINs
- 1
