The first full biography of the man whom Roger Adams called the greatest chemist in America. Carothers took an infant science called polymer chemistry, defined it, and guided it toward its present maturity. Hermes tells the story of Carothers's sudden dramatic research successes--the discoveries that led to neoprene and nylon--and his relentless slide into depression, alcohol, and suicide, through revealing letters to his professional colleagues, family, and college classmates.