This is the first "tractor book" I bought, and it remains my favorite.  Well-researched and well-written chapters on John Deere, Caterpillar, Allis-Chalmers, Case, IH, Ford, Massey, White, and "the Orphan Tractors."  Not a definitive study of any one brand, but a very good general history of each brand covered.  Great photos, mostly of less-common types like high-crops or orchard models.  Also available in paperback.

Leffingwell's survey of the machines and innovations that shaped the course of farm tractor development.  It devotes 36 separate chapters to individual tractors, ranging from a J.I. Case steam traction engine to the original Farmall, the John Deere R to the Farmall Super MTA, the Deere 4010 to the Caterpillar Challenger, and many others.  Nice coffee-table book, with Randy's trademark scholarly research, excellent writing, and terrific photography.  Originally published in hardback (with a more accurate title) as Farm Tractor Milestones.

Extremely similar to The American Farm Tractor, above, but with a substantially less-detailed text.  I suspect this was a publisher's marketing effort, condensing and repackaging Leffingwell's original classic into a less-expensive version to generate some more sales without really having to write a new book.  Not a bad book, but buy the other one.

Another publisher's marketing package, this book borrows material from the author's Classic Farm Tractors (left) and adds it onto the first nine chapters of the author's Farm Tractors - A Living History (below).  That makes it a big volume, at 432 pages long.  Not bad, but I'd still go with the real originals:  The American Farm Tractor and Farm Tractors - A Living History.

Great big collection of old advertising art, black and white photos, Nebraska Test results, and brief descriptions of a huge variety of old tractors.  Estimated dollar values are given for some.  Tractors are sorted alphabetically by manufacturer, from the Abenaque Machine Works to the Zimmerman Auto Tractor Company, with nearly 1000 companies in between.  Some get only a few lines of text or a few paragraphs, covering their brief involvement in the tractor business; others get many more.  John Deere alone has 50 pages, covering the Dain to the 8630.  Like all catalogs, you don't really read this book--you browse it.

Detailed, well-researched, well-written history of the development of steam engines, internal combustion engines, and major events in tractor evolution such as the Nebraska tests, rubber tires, three-point hitch, etc.  Extremely high quality color photos throughout, mostly of unusual makes and types of tractors:  A 1909 Phoenix Log Hauler (steam railroad engine on crawler tracks), Wallis Bear, Ford Model T conversion, Sheppard Diesel, Ford 971 LPG, and many others.

I haven't tried this one yet but I liked This Old Tractor, which the author co-edited, and he's photographed quite a few other books and calendars.  I expect this to be a handsome coffee-table book along the lines of Randy Leffingwell's The American Farm Tractor, above, and the foreword by baseball Hall of Famer (and old-tractor fan) Bob Feller is probably fun.

Another historical survey of farm tractor evolution, beginning with steam power in the late 1800s and continuing through the modern era, including a chapter on early farm crawlers.  I haven't read this one yet but I like previous books by the authors and think this one looks pretty good.

Guy Fay is a meticulous researcher.  I don't yet have this book but his Farmall Letter Series Tractors is an outstanding reference on original design and detailing of those machines, and this looks like the counterpart for the classic Allis line.  Expect good photos, interesting technical details, and concise writing.

Comprehensive history of Case, one of the pioneers of the steam tractor industry and a long-time builder of agricultural equipment.  I don't have this book yet but intend to buy a copy--the Case VAH we had when I was a kid was a wonderful and dependable old tractor, and this book looks to be well done.  It's published by the American Society of Agricultural Engineers.

A history of the Cockshutt Farm Equipment company of Canada and the tractors, trucks, and equipment they manufactured over the company's 85-year history.  The Cockshutt 30 (pictured on the book cover) was the first production farm tractor with a successful "live" power takeoff, and, like only a few other tractors, seemed to just get everything right and become a lasting classic.

A great history of Henry Ford's long involvement with farm tractors, his partnerships with Harry Ferguson and others, and a lot of other great stuff.  Like other Leffingwell books, this one is thoroughly researched and superbly photographed.  In some cases the writing and editing doesn't seem as smooth as in the author's books on John Deere or on farm tractors in general, but this is still the benchmark book on Ford tractors.  Originally published in hardback.

Looks like just the thing if you have, want, or are otherwise interested in a 9N, 2N, or 8N.  These little tractors rank among the great ones, with their "Ferguson system" 3-point hitch and practical design.

I haven't read this but it looks like another case where the publisher re-edits material originally developed for a more comprehensive book (Ford Farm Tractors, above, which covers the entire run including the 1950s) into a less-expensive edition.  The photos are probably ones not used in the earlier book but are bound to be great anyway, and Leffingwell's text is usually well researched and well written.

The definitive Oliver history, with lots of great historical photos and behind-the-scenes text from author Morrell, a former chief engineer at the corporation.  Out of print now, but available used.