Any account of Wells Fargo & Company involves a history of the more dramatic aspects of the Old West. From 1852 to 1918, the company's operations bisected almost all social, cultural, and economic activities in the Trans-Mississippi West and were conducted in diverse physical landscapes. Its early history illuminates the booms and busts of gold and silver mining rushes, the collection and distribution of mail, the rise and fall of banks, the Pony Express, overland staging, the building of the transcontinental railroad, the Civil War and Indian wars, the violence of robbers and gunfighters, the development of agriculture, the rise of capitalist entrepreneurs, the regulation and disbanding of monopolies, and the return of the entrepreneurs with deregulation. In January 1848, Wells Fargo's agents in California's gold regions provided basic banking and safe express transport services of gold and letters for thousands of miners, using Concord stagecoaches, 'built stout' to withstand the rigours of Western travel. Along with the nostalgic appeal of its Old West identity, readers will discover that speed, security, and connectivity have been constants in the company's long history, themes that remain more important than ever in modern banking today, from credit cards to cashpoint machines.

About the Author
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.

Reviews
Jonathon Kirsch The Los Angeles Times Book Review Both a colorful work of frontier history and a cool-headed corporate biography....Fradkin surveys the history of Wells Fargo in all its sweep.
The Economist Fradkin has neatly compacted this sprawling history into a slender volume.
Michael Carlson Financial Times (London) This lively history...is as much a story of corporate machinations back East as it is of adventure in the West....One relishes the anecdotes about heroes who ought to be better remembered.
The Wall Street Journal A great story of brave spirits in the American West, and of entrepreneurial spirit as well.



Book Information
ISBN 9780743234368
Author Philip L. Fradkin
Format Paperback
Page Count 272
Imprint The Free Press
Publisher Simon & Schuster
Weight(grams) 322g
Dimensions(mm) 216mm * 140mm * 20mm