Snoopy and the Spy: A Saga of Espionage, Ingenuity, and the Epic Battle to Save International Harvester

On the farm fields of the late 1970s and early 1980s, the stakes had never been higher. The era marked one of the hardest economic environments of the twentieth century, and two of the world's toughest competitors were locked in a high-horsepower arms race to create the world's best piece of agricultural equipment. For John Deere, winning meant maintaining global dominance. For International Harvester, winning would mean survival. For all the other ag equipment makers--well, it was mostly bad news.

In a big money game of poker, the two top makers bet on various new technologies and raced to build the best one first. The new machines were designed and built in secret spaces, then tested in dark pastures and remote corners of the world. They were transported carefully covered under tarps and rail cars . . . all in effort to keep them from the prying eyes and nimble cameras of the competition.

In this rollicking trip back in time, the salesman, engineers, and executives who played the game offer firsthand accounts of how and why this techno-turf war was fought. As the game escalated, one salesman took matters into his own hands. In the name of company loyalty, he crossed a line he shouldn't have and found himself deep in enemy territory.

The book includes never-before-published images of facilities and equipment, engineering design details, a look at company culture at the ag equipment companies, quotes from interviews with engineers, salespeople, and leaders of both International Harvester and John Deere, as well as insight into the events that led International Harvester to fail. If you love agriculture, history, or a zesty read, this book is for you!

Lee Klancher's career encompasses more than thirty years of publishing great stories. As an editor and publisher, he has overseen the development of some of the most-respected and best-selling books in the transportation niche. A prolific author and photographer, Lee has contributed words and images to more than thirty books as well as dozens of national magazines including Men's Journal, Draft, and Motorcyclist.

A book junkie and an obsessive student of his craft, Lee has also taught writing and photography at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design. He is best known for his award-winning books and calendars covering farm tractors, including Red Tractors and Red 4WD Tractors. He has rented an abandoned air force base to create a book cover, and built a custom 20x40-foot studio to photograph 30 of the most valuable John Deeres in private hands. He and his camera have climbed the Julian Alps, explored breweries on four continents, and ridden backcountry motorcycle routes in the Bolivian Amazon, the Australian Outback, and on the island of Hokkaido, Japan.

When not working on a book or a photo shoot, Lee busies himself biking, reading, and enjoying good food and craft beer. Lee lives in Austin, Texas, with his wife, Joan, as well as their dog, Red.