Before there was Xanterra, there was Fred Harvey. The man and the company. You see his name every time you enter the Grand Canyon National Park. or pass through Siligman, Barstow or many other western towns and National Parks.
What tour guide has ever wondered who this Fred Harvey character really was and why is his name plastered all over the west?? Here is your answer and what an answer it is.
Appetite for America: How Visionary Businessman Fred Harvey Built a Railroad Hospitality Empire That Civilized the Wild West
This is an amazing book, not only about a man so few of us know anything about, but a company that really was responsible for making the western United States civilized for people to live in.
This book is part biography, part business education, part American history; A definite “Must Read” for any tour professional who works the western united states and the National Parks. You get to see how his company shaped the world we work in and how he created and dominated an industry we belong to.
I found it to be a easy read and one that kept your interest as you watched a young immigrant get off the boat and literally start his career. How he saw America as a land of infinite opportunities as he turned what others saw as obstacles, into business deals that made him and others very wealthy.
This is a very well researched and well written book about a man and his passion for service and desire to be the best. You see the birth of the Harvey Houses and why theses wayside stops in the west, staffed with the iconic Harvey Girls were such a success and why he can be credited with making the west civilized as well as populated. How the processes he developed for delivering excellent service and quality dining to a remote frontier, are the same systems used today by the leading hospitality conglomerates.
After reading this book, you will never look at the Grand Canyon, a Xanterra gift shop, the railroad, or your job as a tour professional, the same ever again.
This book does not belong on your reading shelf, it belongs in your travel bag!
