Stagecoach: Wells Fargo and the American West - Paperback

by Philip L. Fradkin (Author), J. S. Holliday (Foreword by)

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.

Author Biography

Philip L. Fradkin is the author of nine critically acclaimed books about
the American West and Alaska. He shared a Pulitzer Prize for his work at the
Los Angeles Times, and he has taught writing courses at the University
of California at Berkeley and at Stanford University. He lives in San
Francisco.