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Title:  Tandy's Money Machine - How Charles Tandy Built Radio Shack Into the World's Largest Electronics Chain

Author: Irvin Farman
Edition: NA
ISBN:0-916371-12-3
Date: 1992
Publisher: Mobium Press
Binding: Hard Cover
Size approximately (inches): 6-1/2 x 9-1/2
Pages: 464

Book Condition: Good. Previously owned. 

Special Notes: Radio Shack Part Number 62-2425

About the book*:

Irvin Farman’s Tandy’s Money Machine traces Charles D. Tandy’s transformation of a modest leather goods business into a consumer electronics empire. Born in 1918, Charles began selling leather scraps by the age of ten. He joined the family leather firm—the Hinckley‑Tandy Leather Company—and post‑World War II, rechanneled it into leathercrafts, later taking it public privately.

In 1963, he purchased a struggling nine‑store Radio Shack chain for approximately $300,000. Tandy overhauled its product lines, closed unprofitable mail-order operations, emphasized private-label goods, and built a dense network of small, staff‑expert stores. Under his leadership, Radio Shack surged to become—at one point—the world's largest consumer electronics retailer. The company pioneered home computers with the TRS‑80 (“Trash‑80”) in 1977, and embraced trends like CB radio. Tandy’s charismatic yet demanding leadership style left a lasting legacy—though after his death in 1978, the corporation's fortunes ebbed.

📑 Complete Chapter List

Here’s the full contents list as reproduced from the archive.org text: 

• Acknowledgements

• Prologue

Part I – Leather Beginnings

1. Start on a Shoe String

2. Building a Business in Peace and War

3. Tandy Leather Company Spreads Its Wings

4. High Hopes Turn to Frustration

5. Saving the Family Jewels

6. “He Could Sell Iceboxes to Eskimos”

7. “Luther, I Don’t Understand This Business”

Part II – Radio Shack Transformation

8. A Bargain Basement Buy in Boston

9. The Crusade is Launched

10. Confrontation at the Waldorf

11. A Vision of 1,000 Radio Shacks

12. “When Are We Gonna Get Some Damn Stores Open?”

13. A Champagne Toast at the First of Boston

14. “I Wish My Father Was Here Today”

15. A Dream Fulfilled

16. A Lingerie Department Loses Its Panties

17. A Brush With the Grim Reaper

18. “What Are You Gonna Buy Next, General Motors?”

19. “Bernie, I’ll Build You Your Own Synagogue”

20. Zsa Zsa Misses a Ribbon‑Cutting

21. Disaster in a Rice Field

22. Radio Shack Goes International

23. A ‘Giant’ Deal Falls on Its Face

24. A Triple Play for Tandy

25. The CB Radio Bubble Bursts

Part III – Computing Era & Legacy

26. The Birth of the TRS‑80

27. “The Biggest Name in Little Computers”

28. “Goodbye, Charlie”

29. A Giant is Laid to Rest

30. A Vision, a Dream

✅ Summary

• Strong foundations: Chapters 1–7 narrate Charles’ childhood ingenuity and leather‑craft entrepreneurship.

• Strategic pivot: Chapters 8–25 cover the acquisition of Radio Shack, system-wide restructuring, and explosive expansion—including major product hits and market strategies.

• Tech benchmark & legacy: Chapters 26–30 chronicle the TRS‑80 launch, Tandy’s passing in 1978, and his corporate and cultural legacy.

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*AI is used to present modern description content. Subject to review and possible inaccuracy.