Goodyear has to rank as an authentic American hero. Compulsion doesn't even begin to describe the tenacity with which Goodyear, through countless trial and error attempts tried to discover the secrets of vulcanization. One has to sympathize with his family, however, as Goodyear -- dare I say squandered in light of the result? -- his family's funds to purchase supplies, taking over the kitchen with gooey, syrupy liquid rubber, making a mess out of his personal life, facing debtor's prison and generally obsessing with rubber. Certainly, part of the motivation was money. Whoever solved the problem would become rich. Goodyear was bedeviled constantly by those wishing to steal his secrets and profit from his discoveries. The story of the legal battle for control of the patent is equaling riveting.Slack turns what one would think to be a boring subject into a fascinating read (or listen in my case) as he weaves the technical, social, and political aspects together into a fine narrative.
