Shampoo from peanuts? Wallpaper from clay? Ink from sweet potatoes? With imagination and innovation, George Washington Carver (1864-1934) developed hundreds of unexpected products from everyday plants.

Carver was an exceptionally uncommon man: trailblazing scholar, innovative scientist, pioneering conservationist, and impassioned educator. This book follows his life from enslaved orphan to his student days as the first African American to attend Iowa State College (where he later taught) and on to his work in the field of agriculture. Illustrated with historical photographs, and published with The Field Museum, Chicago, the book traces Carver's life, discoveries, and legacy.