Stagecoach: Wells Fargo and the American West Book

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.

Publishers Weekly

Fradkin, who has written eight books about the American West, offers a swashbuckling account of Wells Fargo's early mail and express delivery service. In the 1850s, executives hit upon a scheme to get around laws to protect the U.S. Postal Service monopoly. Wells Fargo bought stamped post office envelopes and double-stamped them with the company fee. Customers paid two to three times the government rate to ensure the mail's swift and certain delivery out west, where the Postal Service had a dismal performance record. Armed guards protected the cargo on Wells Fargo's express service, which shipped valuable post via stagecoach. The cargo, mostly precious metals from Western mines, was the bedrock of the company's first "deposits," giving the young institution an instant asset base. Given Wells Fargo's enterprising image today, it is surprising to learn how many times the company stumbled when new technology loomed. Executives ordered 30 pricey new stagecoaches just before the transcontinental railroad was completed in 1869. They scoffed when government trustbusters threatened to launch a parcel post in 1913. In his final chapter, Fradkin skims over Wells Fargo's breathtaking rise from a single San Francisco outpost in 1918 to a vast financial services institution. He does present a convincing argument that in this age of instantly manufactured brands, Wells Fargo earned its marketing image of rugged pioneerism the hard way through 150 years of struggle and corporate survival. (Feb. 1) Forecast: Those interested in western lore or corporate branding will enjoy this intriguing tale of how one corporation adapted to the pioneer days of the Old West. Readers seeking a detailed financial history of Wells Fargo the bank will be disappointed. Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.