Customer Reviews

Noble Obsession: Charles Goodyear, Thomas Hancock, and the Race to Unlock the Greatest Industrial Secret of the 19th Century

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You would never know it by today's amazon.com sales rank where currently it is ranked 1,102,030!!!! Like most of the others who have reviewed this book, I found it to be superb. Charles Slack takes us back to nineteenth century America and one mans obsession with an idea. Many folks bought into his idea for a time and some of them lost a lot of money in the process. Most people considered him a fool. But Charles Goodyear devoted most of his working life to perfecting the art of vulcanization. His efforts resulted in a product with literally thousands of commercial uses. It is a truly remarkable story told in a most engaging manner. Never mind the best sellers.....give this one a try. I guarantee you that you won't be disappointed.

Most writers of history - even the commercially successful ones - make the same mistake. They write books that are mere chronological recitations of fact and minutiae, with little regard for narrative. But Charles Slack deftly avoids this trap. His subject is seemingly arcane - the discovery of the vulcanization process for rubber. But, perhaps because he is a former journalist rather than an academic, Slack never loses his grip on the storyline that makes the life of Charles Goodyear so compelling. Goodyear, we come to realize, is a true American hero, who worked doggedly to solve one of the greatest riddles of the industrial age, triumphing in the end over charlatans who fought to deprive him of the money and recognition he deserved. This is a great read about an overlooked chapter in US history.

Some pieces of history just do not seem to be the stuff of entertaining books - such as the history of rubber. Mr. Slack turns this bit of history into a thoroughly entertaining and informative book. Of course, he had the whacky Charles Goodyear to help along the way. To say Goodyear was obsessive would be to understate the case.

Mr. Slack weaves the efforts of Goodyear and his rivals to make rubber a useful commodity into a compelling read. Goodyear's successful efforts - after years of amusing failures - are purloined along the way by a rogue's gallery of figures. The title would imply a greater role for Hancock than he appeears in the book, but Mr. Slack shows his scientific methodology and buusiness sense in contrast to Goodyear's lack thereof to great effect.

As we watch Goodyear trip and fall repeatedly on his way to stumbling onto the answer, Mr. Slack explains the science behind the experiments well. Adding to the book is Mr. Slack's ability to give the historical perspective. He relates well the times and the burgeoning industrial age, so that when the answer to production of rubber is found, its impact on the age is comprehended by the reader.

A terrific and well-written history. Strongly recommended.

I do not often write a review of something I have read, even when it is either good or bad, but when a volume as exceptional and enjoyable to read as this one comes along, it deserves praise. I particularly enjoyed the way Mr. Slack put the era in context and he was not hesitant to go off and explore and explain the background behind the players. He gives little stories that truly flesh out those individuals or companies whom touched Goodyear's life. My only complaint is that the book was so short! This is one that could have been expanded and I dare say it would not have been dull in the least! I also wish Mr. Slack would write more! Great work!

Everyday from the elastic bands in the office to the tires on planes and automobiles, rubber keeps the world moving and together. The story of how it went from an impractical curiosity to a modern marvel of science is the subject of this fascinating story.

Charles Goodyear was a failed businessman with a determination to wrest from India-gum rubber the secret of the age. How to prepare the substance so it could withstand the extremes of heat and cold. Without this knowledge all rubber products were doomed to a short life span and an ignominious end as a sticky glob or a frozen and brittle pile of scraps. Goodyear sacrifices all the comforts he has; he begs and borrows shamelessly from his friend and family. He is thrown into debtor's prison more than once. His family sickens from lack of heat and proper nutrition. Against all the odds, the crackpot genius does discover the long sought process and then his REAL troubles start.

If Charles Goodyear thought that no one wants to be your friend when you are unsuccessful, his list of enemies Is nothing compared to when he has success in his grasp. Out of the woodwork come charlatans and crooks all ready willing and able to steal the victory laurels from their rightful owner.

This is the kind of story that fill the headlines today and makes us all lament about hoe much better things were in the `old days'. The more things change they more they stay the same.

It is amazing how well the story of rubber has been told in a lucid and entertaining manner. The book is well-researched and has authentic references. Slack uses an easy reading narrative style to bring out the poignant story of rubber. The drama involving various "actors" from both sides of the Atlantic has been told in a way that arouses suspense page-by-page. The court battles involving Goodyear (and Webster) and the hacks is well told. In all, an informative story that truly establishes the relative place in history of all the key players in the story of rubber - inital failures to vulcanisation. A great read!

Noble Obsession tells the gripping story of how Charles Goodyear dedicated his life to turning a gooey sap, sticky when warm and brittle when cold, into stable, vulcanized rubber. Obsessed with rubber and with what could be done with it, Goodyear braved abject poverty, debtors' prison, personal illness, the deaths of his first wife and most of his children, legal battles, and more, to perfect his invention. He lived to see the world benefit enormously from what he did. Yet other than the posthumous honor of having what would become the world's largest rubber company named after him - a company founded by Frank and Charles Seiberling 20 years after his death - Goodyear and his family received virtually nothing.

In a climactic final chapter, Slack brilliantly weaves the entire story together. Deliciously written by a writer of rapidly increasing fame, Noble Obsession is one of the most interesting, absorbing books that I have ever read. Don't miss it.

Take a long-forgotten story from 150 years ago, and re-tell it with with the style and verve of a novelist; bring the characters to life, and capture the atmosphere of another time (and the rough-and-tumble business practices that have parallels today)--all the while sticking closely within the known facts. That was the task that Charles Slack set himself, and he has succeeded brilliantly. Noble Obsession is an enlightening window on an important piece of our industrial history, but it is also much more, a classic tale of a lone protagonist struggling and succeeding against enormous odds, memorably told by a master storyteller.

Charles Slack is a wonderful reporter, and this engaging book illuminates a fascinating chapter in American history. But what raises this book above mere reportage is the profound sympathy the author evokes for all the story's characters, from Goodyear's long-suffering and enigmatic wife, Clarissa, to his chief rival Thomas Hancock. Even the scoundrel Horace Day is fully drawn rather than treated like a mere two-dimensional villain. This is a wise book, and Goodyear's singleminded mission to solve the riddle of "gum-elastic" is an inspiring and much needed reminder that it's usually not greed that motivates the very greatest entrepreneurs and inventors.

Charles Goodyear's do-or-die quest to solve the riddle of vulcanization is a compelling slice of history and an American industrial triumph that will now not be forgotten. Among other things, Charles Slack should be commended for recognizing the value of Goodyear's contribution to society and for bringing the inventor's 19th-century to life so lucidly and with such good humor. Among the fascinating camioes here is that of the great lawyer and orator Daniel Webster, who represents Goodyear and helps him claim his rightful place in history against greedy usurpers in the U.S. and Britain. As Slack cleverly observes, "Webster the actual man rattles around in the attic of our national memory as a famous but oddly hard-to-place New England statesman, who gave important speeches on matters that . . . have long since receded into the historical haze." Slack has proved here that he is one of the fine new writers of serious but popular history who are helping to clear away that haze, and helping America to better appreciate its national heritage. The Wall Street Journal called Noble Obsession, "utterly absorbing." Add to that remarkably edifying. Well done!