Botts Abroad

The world's best tractor salesman is back in this second installment of Alexander Botts and the Earthworm Tractor. In this series of humorous short stories, Botts and his new bride travel to Europe on a special assignment to bring the solid, American-made machines to the Old World Nicknamed "Gadget" because of her usefulness, Mrs. Botts proves to be as resourceful as her husband in cleverly closing deals in ancient cities previously thought to have no market for crawler tractors.

Alexander Botts was created in 1927 by author William Hazlett Upson, and the stories are based on Upson's work as a factory assembler and sales demonstrator for the Caterpillar Tractor Company. For almost half a century, Botts was beloved by Saturday Evening Post readers in more than 100 short stories. This book includes the original illustrations that appeared with the stories in The Saturday Evening Post, and is part of a series that will be the first to present the entire collection.

Alexander Botts and his Earthworm Tractor will charm readers young and old and entertain with innocent mayhem, timeless humor, and twists of fate.

William Hazlett Upson was born in Glen Ridge, NJ on September 26, 1891. His father was a Wall Street lawyer and his mother was a doctor of medicine. Upson became a farmer then enlisted in the field artillery in World War I. After the war he worked for several years as a service mechanic and troubleshooter for the Caterpillar Tractor Company. He learned the art of salesmanship which would inspire his later writing. In 1923, he began writing short stories and in 1927 created character Alexander Botts, who has appeared in over a hundred Saturday Evening Post stories.

Upson married Marjory Alexander Wright and made a home in Middlebury, Vt. He had a son, John Wright Upson and a daughter, Polly (Mrs. Claude A. Brown).