It made my boyhood summers when Minneapolis used Caterpillar tractors to repave the avenue past my home. Thanks to editor P.A. Letourneau, this paperbound book offers a comprehensive collection of over 500 black-and-white photographs of crawler tractors built by Caterpillar Inc. and the company’s two principal predecessors, Holt Manufacturing Co. and C.L. Best Tractor Co. The book is organized by model, starting with Holt tractors manufactured between 1904 and 1925, Best tractors made between 1912 and 1925, and then with the 1925 merger of these companies to create the Caterpillar Tractor Co., through 1963. Arranged in chronological order, the photographs are primarily those taken for promotional purposes. However, the photos represent a treasure trove of “eye candy” for fans—like me—of Holt, Best, and Caterpillar crawler tractors. While generally featuring two photographs per page, the book includes some full-page examples of sales brochure pages, advertisements, and tractors in action. The tractors are featured in a marvelous array of work settings including farming, snow removal, logging, railroad maintenance, mining, building roads and dams, and military programs including work at the South Pole. 

Book Review by Robert Gabrick