- Paperback: 304 pages
- Publisher: Simon and Schuster; Reprint edition (16 Jun 2003)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0743234367
- ISBN-13: 978-0743234368
- Product Dimensions: 21.6 x 14 x 1.7 cm
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Amazon Bestsellers Rank:
49,977 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #10 in Books > History > Countries & Regions > Central America & Caribbean > 19th Century
- #59 in Books > Business, Finance & Law > Professional Finance > Banking
- #69 in Books > Business, Finance & Law > Biographies & Histories > Company Histories
Stagecoach: Wells Fargo and the American West
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Product Description
Review
Michael Carlson "Financial Times" (London) This lively history...is as much a story of corporate machinations back East as it is of adventure in the West....One relishes the anecdotes about heroes who ought to be better remembered.
Product Description
Sweeping in scope, as revealing of an era as it is of a company, Stagecoach is the epic story of Wells Fargo and the American West. The trail of Wells Fargo runs through nearly every imaginable landscape and icon of frontier folklore: the California Gold Rush, the Pony Express, the transcontinental railroad, the Civil War, and the Indian wars. From the Great Plains to the Rockies to the Pacific Ocean, the company's operations embraced almost all social, cultural, and economic activities west of the Mississippi. As its reputation for speed and dependability grew after the Gold Rush, the sight of a red-and-yellow Wells Fargo stagecoach racing across the prairie came to symbolize faith in a nation's progress. For a time, Wells Fargo was the most powerful and widespread institution in the American West, even surpassing the presence of the federal government. Stagecoach is a fascinating and rare combination of Western and business history. Along with its rich association with the frontier, readers will discover that swiftness, security, and connectivity have been constants in Wells Fargo's 150 years.
Inside This Book
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First Sentence
IMAGINE A business that combines the communications aspects of letter mail, e-mail, faxes, and the telephone; the transportation of heavier goods by parcel post and express mail, such private carriers as United Parcel Service and Federal Express, and an armored car service; and the plethora of financial arrangements supplied by modern intrastate, interstate, and international full-service banks. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
IMAGINE A business that combines the communications aspects of letter mail, e-mail, faxes, and the telephone; the transportation of heavier goods by parcel post and express mail, such private carriers as United Parcel Service and Federal Express, and an armored car service; and the plethora of financial arrangements supplied by modern intrastate, interstate, and international full-service banks. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
3.0 out of 5 stars (6 customer reviews)
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent history of Wells Fargo, 1 Nov 2006
By Bomojaz - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Stagecoach: Wells Fargo and the American West (Paperback)
Wells, Fargo and Co., the freighting and banking company, got its start in 1852 at the height of the Gold Rush period in California. It bought out a number of smaller stagecoach lines running between towns and mining camps in the gold fields and eventually established a monopoly in the business in the area. To finance its business ends, the company also started a banking business, with profits being obtained from the gold dust being shipped from the gold fields on its stagecoaches. Packages, gold, mail, and finally passengers were soon being hauled throughout central California and points east by Wells Fargo stages. The company was also very involved with the Overland Mail Company, operating all its express services west of Salt Lake, and even administered to the fabled Pony Express along its route across the central plains for a few years before its demise. With the coming of the transcontinental railroad in 1869, Wells Fargo was able to expand its express business while the stagecoach operations disappeared.
Philip Fradkin tells the story of the Wells Fargo company superbly and with careful attention to historical accuracy. He relates many stories of stagecoach holdups, of what it was like traveling by stage in the West, and what the stage stations were like - all told with flair and excitement. And the business operations of the company, especially after the merger with the American Express Company and into the twentieth century, are explained fully without becoming deadly dull. Fradkin's scholarship is praiseworthy in his use of original source material, especially company records and the files of the Wells Fargo Historical Services department. It's an enjoyable book and is the definitive book on the company today.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great Historical book, 11 Jan 2007
By P. Bryant - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Stagecoach: Wells Fargo and the American West (Paperback)
Great history on not only Wells Fargo but the early growing west. Very well written.
1.0 out of 5 stars
Wells Fargo Envy, 7 Jan 2012
By Allan Stellar - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Stagecoach: Wells Fargo and the American West (Paperback)
Philip Fradkin wrote a book on California (The Seven States of California) that I really liked, and, as is my custom when I run across a writer I enjoy, I read my way through most of their catalogue. And so Stagecoach is the second book by this writer that I've read. Stagecoach is a look at the 150 year history of Wells Fargo (the bank and the once upon a time shipper and transportation provider). This book came out eight years before the bank bailouts. Wells Fargo was one of the banks that took money in 2008/2009. They received, at least, 25 billion dollars.
Fradkin is quite friendly towards the company. In fact, it reads much like Wells Fargo commissioned the thing. Yes, there is some interesting history here; especially the parts about what it was like to travel the US by stagecoach in the 1860's. And yes, Wells Fargo did transform nutrition in the United States by figuring out how to ship fruits and vegetables in a refrigerated rail car (they used ice) thus improving the lives of millions of Americans.
But I was surprised at just how fawning Fradkin could be towards this company. I expected to read something that was a bit more critical, a bit more daring, a bit more biting. But Fradkin seems to be in love with Wells Fargo. It is almost as shocking as when Chris Hitchens fell in love with George W. Bush. You don't expect this sort of ass kissing of power from decent writers. Both Hitchens and Fradkin surprised me.
As such, this book could very easily grace the bookshelf in the CEO's office of Wells Fargo. I expected something more from Fradkin. Oh well, I'll give him another chance to redeem himself. Maybe Fradkin needed some quick cash and writing a laudatory history of a bank filled the coffers in time for Christmas. We all have our price.
And so, I will forgive Fradkin and give him another go.
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