An edition of Noble Obsession (2002)

Noble Obsession

Charles Goodyear, Thomas Hancock, and the Race to Unlock the Greatest Industrial Secret of the Nineteenth Century

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Last edited by ImportBot
July 15, 2017 | History
An edition of Noble Obsession (2002)

Noble Obsession

Charles Goodyear, Thomas Hancock, and the Race to Unlock the Greatest Industrial Secret of the Nineteenth Century

1 edition
  • 2 Want to read
  • 1 Have read

"The world had never seen such a substance. Bouncy, stretchable, and moldable - rubber seemed like the miracle stuff of the early nineteenth century. But a major problem soon became clear - it melted in summer and cracked in winter. It would take one obsessed genius - Charles Goodyear - willing to endure years of poverty, hunger, and imprisonment, to reinvent rubber into the indispensable substance it is today.".

"Noble Obsession is the tale of how a single-minded genius risked his own life and his family's in a quest to unlock the secrets of rubber, and how Thomas Hancock, a brilliant English inventor, ruthlessly sought to claim Goodyear's discovery for himself. The story abounds with colorful historical figures of the nineteenth century including Rufus Choate and Daniel Webster, who came to Goodyear's defense in the courtroom.".

"Goodyear suffered like few inventors before or since, and he pursued his invention with a passion that few could comprehend. Disappointments and frustrations alternated with false successes and crushed expectations. He begged from neighboring farmers to feed his family; he couldn't afford a carriage for his son's burial in the town's cemetery and he pawned his family's linen and books in order to finance his experiments.

Through all of his adversity, though, Goodyear continued to work like a madman, constantly struggling to perfect his invention, until the day that he - almost by accident - found that he had invented the miracle substance that would change the world."--BOOK JACKET.

Publish Date
Publisher
Hyperion
Language
English
Pages
304

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Previews available in: English

Edition Availability
Cover of: Noble Obsession
Noble Obsession
2003, Books on Tape, Bookson Tape, Inc.
Audio Cassette in English
Cover of: Noble Obsession
Cover of: Noble obsession
Cover of: Noble Obsession
Cover of: Noble Obsession
Noble Obsession: Charles Goodyear And Thomas Hancock And the Race to Unlock the Greatest Industrial
January 2002, W. W. Norton & Company
Hardcover in English - 1 edition

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Book Details


First Sentence

"Thomas Hancock sat in his London office on a late summer's day in 1842, turning over a few darkened scraps of material in his hands."

The Physical Object

Format
Hardcover
Number of pages
304
Dimensions
8.3 x 5.5 x 0.8 inches
Weight
1.4 pounds

ID Numbers

Open Library
OL8143099M
Internet Archive
nobleobsessionch00slac
ISBN 10
0786867892
ISBN 13
9780786867899
OCLC/WorldCat
49942707
Library Thing
2444040
Goodreads
7354826

Excerpts

Thomas Hancock sat in his London office on a late summer's day in 1842, turning over a few darkened scraps of material in his hands.
added anonymously.

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History

Download catalog record: RDF / JSON / OPDS | Wikipedia citation
July 15, 2017 Edited by ImportBot import new book
February 22, 2012 Edited by LC Bot import new book
April 28, 2011 Edited by OCLC Bot Added OCLC numbers.
August 9, 2010 Edited by IdentifierBot added LibraryThing ID
April 29, 2008 Created by an anonymous user Imported from amazon.com record