In 1802 E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company sprouted, like an acorn, close to the young oak of American life. In the early years DuPont explosives helped the new nation build canals and railroads, ports and harbors, and dams and mines. DuPont munitions also served national needs during time of war.

The company's diversification into plastics, dyes, and synthetic materials after 1900 matched new technologies to the needs of a complex, maturing society. DuPont's pioneering research yielded a host of new products like neoprene and nylon, and its service in the Manhattan Project in World War II helped bring that prolonged conflict to a decisive end.

The post-war years brought sharp competition and high-stakes global challenges. DuPont restructured its business and research efforts, mining science for useful discoveries in diverse fields like energy, health, electronics, specialty fibers, and biotechnology. Its international impact, reputation, and market reach grew as well. And when science helped galvanize the environmental movement, DuPont led industries worldwide to a renewed sense of stewardship for the earth's resources.

Today DuPont operates in more than 70 countries throughout the world, and its vision and impact are global. But it has held to a core of enduring values, a deep taproot drawing on the past to sustain the present and nurture the future. Harnessing fundamental discoveries in science to create value in world markets, DuPont people have transformed their company successfully for two centuries, making DuPont one of the most successful and sustained industrial enterprises in the world. Their story makes for exciting history, and this book tells how they did it.