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George Washington Carver: An American Biography
An American Biography
Hardcover
First published January 1, 1943
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
September 7, 2013
Mr. Holt portrays George Washington Carver as a individual who strives. Although Mr. Carver faced many challenges he shows his constancy in life. His aim was to always learn and appreciate the life abounding about him. I feel as if I know what George Washington Carver loved, learned and respected about life. Mr. Holt's portrayal shows the humanity of us all, and the inherent love of life that George Washington Carver still to this day through the words of Mr. Holt we find how through sincere effort G.W. Carver view of things that surround us that each day is a gift and every breath is a miracle. "Every breath is a miracle" is a quote from Michael Savage's radio show who also speaks very highly of the discovery of the miracles found in life by George Washington Carver. I would recommend this book to all who love to read, read biographies and have a urning for understanding how plants live. Mr. Holt's writing is smooth and beautifully digestable and allows you to ponder the gifts of living. Enjoy !
July 18, 2019
This biography is detailed and closer in time to Dr. Carver’s life than other biographies. It relates his deep and embattled faith and how he never sought fame or acclaim. Instead, he always sought the welfare of his own people.
September 16, 2022
Slightly difficult read for me with the advanced language, but I loved every second reading it. I learned a lot about not only an amazing person but also about plants, some of my favorite foods, and early civil rights.
November 15, 2025
The only thing most people were taught about George Washington Carver was that he discovered over 300 uses for the peanut. Many opponents of racial equality during his day downplayed his genius by labeling him "the old peanut man." He was an inventor, an artist, a musician, a chemist, a geologist, a botanist, a technologist, a professor, an orator, a social reformer, and a Bible teacher. He was also a man who did so much to help the American South recover from the Civil War that he received praise from the United Daughters of the Confederacy.
Rather than being bitter about being born into slavery in Missouri, where he had been kidnapped as a baby along with his mother, he spent his life trying to learn as much and as fast as possible. If ever there was an American who pulled himself up by his own bootstraps, it was him. Yet if he was able to walk 8 miles to learn at a colored school in Neosho, it was because God helped him. If he succeeded at anything, it was because God helped him. His former owner became his father figure, and they had a good relationship. He was too fascinated with the nature around him to think about being bitter over his lot in life.
It took Missouri longer than other parts of the country to embrace freed slaves, and he traveled to Kansas to get an education. Even after reaching Kansas he was rejected from the school because of his race. Thankfully, people in Iowa welcomed him. It was Iowa where a lawsuit by future U.S. Ambassador Alexander Clark would result in America's first statewide ban on school segregation almost 100 years before the Civil Rights legislation. Carver studied art and music at Simpson College and then earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees at Iowa State Agricultural College, now Iowa State University. He could have had a promising career in Iowa, but former slaves in the South needed his help.
Down in Tuskegee, Alabama, Booker T. Washington was building a school. Together these two Washingtons worked to help both blacks and whites build back the South. Besides destroying the lives of human beings, slavery had destroyed the Southern economy and the entire landscape. Cotton had been practically their sole crop for decades. Much of the topsoil was deprived of its nutrients or even gone, and someone had to find a solution. Carver analyzed the chemistry of sweet potatoes and peanuts and discovered that these two crops by themselves provided all the vitamins for a balanced diet and could be cash crops to replace cotton. On top of this, he discovered new ways to make dyes out of clay and developed his own shade of cobalt blue.
Northern states had recovered from the war due to their industry while farmers in the South grew destitute and looked for someone to blame. Some blamed Northern politicians and some blamed former slaves. Booker T. Washington and George Carver would often have long discussions in the middle of the night over how to react to racism and how to run the school. On one occasion the KKK descended on the school, only to be deterred by the presence of local soldiers under cover of night. Yet as the school grew and the neighboring white community saw how much Tuskegee was doing to help them, they generally gave their support and came for advice from Dr. Carver.
His other fascination was eliminating waste, and he rarely threw anything away. Old clothes could be patched up, fabric and clippings could be used to make artwork, and he refused to buy expensive new clothes. Every part of a plant had a use. He discovered how to make facial cream, medicine, wood laminate, and even artificial marble. Over time he would pioneer research into oil biproducts and plastics. He became America's foremost chemical expert and one of Henry Ford's closest friends. After WWI, he helped find ways to make everyday products from American plants to avoid importing them overseas. His recipe for artificial milk saved lives in the Congo where mothers were dying with their babies from lack of milk. During his time in Iowa, he had been a massage therapist who helped athletes recover from injuries. This experience was put to use when he discovered that peanut oil could cure muscle diseases and disorders.
Was there anything George Washington Carver couldn't do? Well, he couldn't rebuild America and race relations by himself. Yet he gained the reputation of America's foremost scientist, got a standing ovation in Washington, and proved that the solution to so many problems was in nature. While he was open to the theory of evolution, he stood his ground when American intellectuals were progressively rejecting God as the creator of all things. To him, God was the expert. Science was only a matter of discovering what God had already created. In a world where race was being used to divide, he adopted the long view and put aside bitterness. Putting aside bitterness was also something Jesus taught. If George Washington Carver's legacy as a man of science was a success, maybe it was because he was also a man of faith.
Rather than being bitter about being born into slavery in Missouri, where he had been kidnapped as a baby along with his mother, he spent his life trying to learn as much and as fast as possible. If ever there was an American who pulled himself up by his own bootstraps, it was him. Yet if he was able to walk 8 miles to learn at a colored school in Neosho, it was because God helped him. If he succeeded at anything, it was because God helped him. His former owner became his father figure, and they had a good relationship. He was too fascinated with the nature around him to think about being bitter over his lot in life.
It took Missouri longer than other parts of the country to embrace freed slaves, and he traveled to Kansas to get an education. Even after reaching Kansas he was rejected from the school because of his race. Thankfully, people in Iowa welcomed him. It was Iowa where a lawsuit by future U.S. Ambassador Alexander Clark would result in America's first statewide ban on school segregation almost 100 years before the Civil Rights legislation. Carver studied art and music at Simpson College and then earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees at Iowa State Agricultural College, now Iowa State University. He could have had a promising career in Iowa, but former slaves in the South needed his help.
Down in Tuskegee, Alabama, Booker T. Washington was building a school. Together these two Washingtons worked to help both blacks and whites build back the South. Besides destroying the lives of human beings, slavery had destroyed the Southern economy and the entire landscape. Cotton had been practically their sole crop for decades. Much of the topsoil was deprived of its nutrients or even gone, and someone had to find a solution. Carver analyzed the chemistry of sweet potatoes and peanuts and discovered that these two crops by themselves provided all the vitamins for a balanced diet and could be cash crops to replace cotton. On top of this, he discovered new ways to make dyes out of clay and developed his own shade of cobalt blue.
Northern states had recovered from the war due to their industry while farmers in the South grew destitute and looked for someone to blame. Some blamed Northern politicians and some blamed former slaves. Booker T. Washington and George Carver would often have long discussions in the middle of the night over how to react to racism and how to run the school. On one occasion the KKK descended on the school, only to be deterred by the presence of local soldiers under cover of night. Yet as the school grew and the neighboring white community saw how much Tuskegee was doing to help them, they generally gave their support and came for advice from Dr. Carver.
His other fascination was eliminating waste, and he rarely threw anything away. Old clothes could be patched up, fabric and clippings could be used to make artwork, and he refused to buy expensive new clothes. Every part of a plant had a use. He discovered how to make facial cream, medicine, wood laminate, and even artificial marble. Over time he would pioneer research into oil biproducts and plastics. He became America's foremost chemical expert and one of Henry Ford's closest friends. After WWI, he helped find ways to make everyday products from American plants to avoid importing them overseas. His recipe for artificial milk saved lives in the Congo where mothers were dying with their babies from lack of milk. During his time in Iowa, he had been a massage therapist who helped athletes recover from injuries. This experience was put to use when he discovered that peanut oil could cure muscle diseases and disorders.
Was there anything George Washington Carver couldn't do? Well, he couldn't rebuild America and race relations by himself. Yet he gained the reputation of America's foremost scientist, got a standing ovation in Washington, and proved that the solution to so many problems was in nature. While he was open to the theory of evolution, he stood his ground when American intellectuals were progressively rejecting God as the creator of all things. To him, God was the expert. Science was only a matter of discovering what God had already created. In a world where race was being used to divide, he adopted the long view and put aside bitterness. Putting aside bitterness was also something Jesus taught. If George Washington Carver's legacy as a man of science was a success, maybe it was because he was also a man of faith.
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June 5, 2024
This biography was published in 1943 but the style feels even older. The author met and spoke with the subject and her intense admiration for him is obvious. The writing is almost poetic, very different from the factual style I am used to but I grew to appreciate the book. The unusual style suited Dr. Carver.
November 20, 2018
Very detailed and closer in time to Dr. Carver’s life than other biographies. It relates his deep, and embattled faith and how he never sought fame or acclaim, but always the welfare of his own people.
September 22, 2015
I am awe struct and humbled to read this biography of George Washington Carver. Well written, simple and true, before political correctness. Read it to your children, and then pass it on to the next generation.
January 12, 2014
An amazing book and an amazing man. We could all learn to be better human beings and make more of our lives if we followed this man's courageous and humble example. This is a book and a person I will never forget...ever.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews