George Washington Carver

He educated tens of thousands.
His life story inspired millions.
Now, the only complete and authorized biography of George Washington Carver, a great humanitarian, scientist, teacher, and conservationist is back to print after 60 years.

Did you know that...

• Carver was born a slave?
• Carver was the first Black student and the first Black faculty member at Iowa State University?
• Carver was the first Black American to earn a masters degree in agriculture?
• Carver had his paintings exhibited at the 1893 Chicago World's Fair as his a college student?
• Albert Einstein once called him second among the 10 greatest living scientists of their time?
• Henry Ford said Carver was America's greatest living scientist?
• Mahatma Gandhi sought his advice on nutrition?
• Carver created a successful treatment for muscle atrophy during the polio epidemic?
• Carver was the first American who was not a president and the first Black American to have a National Monument established at his birthplace?

George Washington Carver's fascinating story is one of the most important in American history. Now you can learn about this brilliant humanitarian who was hailed as the "Black Leonardo," the "Wizard of Tuskegee," the "Black Burbank," and "the greatest single force since the turn of the century in creating racial understanding."

Early Reviews:

“Rackham Holt’s biography of George Washington Carver is his life story as he wanted it told. Although the book appeared in print after Carver’s death, he had a chance to read the manuscript before it went to press. In a 1940 letter to Holt, he told her, ‘I started in and I confess I could not lay it down until I had finished it.’ Of all the many things written about him, Carver thought that Holt’s account was the best.”
—Gary R. Kremer, Race and Meaning: The African American Experience in Missouri

"...Written in 1943, this biography is profoundly raw and direct about American racial prejudice but will move you like no ordinary biography because it captures the heart of a man who never let Jim Crow stand in his way. His life's contribution to humanity knows no racial divide."
—Joel Salatin, You Can Farm: The Entrepreneur's Guide to Start & Succeed in a Farming Enterprise,co-owner Polyface Farm

"...Dr. Carver was famous before his death in 1943 due to hundreds of admiring newspaper articles, and Holt's book, appearing just before his death, spread that respect and affection for him among a very broad spectrum of U.S. citizens."
—Peter D. Burchard, Carver: A Great Soul

"...Distinguished by its literary flair no less than the personal access Carver himself afforded its author, Rackham Holt's artful and engaging biography is essential reading for serious students of Carver—and a lively and pleasurable read to boot."
—Mark D. Hersey, My Work Is That of Conservation: An Environmental Biography of George Washington Carver

"My grandfather, a white Southerner who lived most of his life during the Jim Crow era, was mentored by Dr. Carver in the early 1930s. He told his children that he believed Dr. Carver was the greatest influence on his life in excellence of study, spiritual awakening, and the realization of, appreciation of, and acceptance of, racial equality..."
—John D. Pickle Jr., PhD., One of His Boys: The Letters of Johnnie Pickle and His Mentor, George W. Carver

Rackham Holt, the woman who wrote this extraordinary book, was born Margaret Van Vechten Saunders in Denver, Colorado, in 1899. She was married to New York publisher Guy Holt, and given the nickname Rackham by a family friend, who thought she looked like one of artist Arthur Rackham’s distinctive drawings. She decided to use Rack-ham Holt as her pen name. Guy Holt died in 1934, at the age of 42, leaving Margaret to raise their ten-year-old daughter alone. In addition to her work in biography, Holt was an editor, book reviewer, librarian, ghost writer, and journalist. In the late 1940’s she was one of the prominent literary figures who spoke in defense of best-selling writer Howard Fast, a man put in prison for three months after refusing to give information to the House Committee on Un-American Activities. Rackham spent three years on Carver’s biography, including five months at Tuskegee In-stitute. After this book was published, she donated half its royalties to the Carver Institute at Tuskegee.