Transcript
Introduction
"Long before America became an international economic powerhouse in the late 19th century, a generation of visionary inventors gambled on innovations, they hoped would bring them riches. Chief among them was Charles Goodyear, who in the 1830s began an obsessive quest to find the recipe for rubber, the material he believed would change the world. Chasing his dream exacted a stiff price, plunging Goodyear and his family into an underworld of poverty and litigation. He spent extended periods in debtors' prison and acquired powerful enemies determined to control this miracle substance before he did. His victory and a dramatic lawsuit argued by Daniel Webster made Goodyear into an American legend, but it never released him from his tragic fixation or relieved the pain it caused those close to him.
The Goodyear Story is a fascinating biography that also provides a panoramic view of America at the dawn of its industrial revolution. Drawing on recently discovered archival sources, Richard Korman tells a suspenseful story of scientific experimentation and legal struggle while he vividly portrays one of the godfathers of today's new economy pioneers."