As the great-grandson of railroad baron James J. Hill—who acquired and orchestrated the reorganization of the First National Bank of St. Paul, a cornerstone of First Bank Stock Corporation, now U.S. Bank—G. Richard (Dick) Slade has a personal family interest in the history of banking in Minnesota. As a longtime participant in Twin Cities banking—he worked five decades for predecessor banks of both U.S. Bank and Well Fargo—Dick had a front-row seat as the regional banks disappeared and the two national bank goliaths emerged.

“[Dick Slade’s] book reads like a metaphor for the changes that have remade the landscape of U.S. banking, and indeed of business overall since the 1920s.” — Dave Beal, St. Paul Pioneer Press