(NAPSA)—Twocenturies ago, a French immigrant started a company on Delaware’s Brandywine River, and since then both the company and the U.S. have grown in size and importance. The company that E.I. du Pont started with one product— black powder for blasting and firearms—nowis better known for Dacron polyester, Lycra elastane, Teflon non-stick coating, Stainmaster carpet, Kevlar fiber and Corian surfaces. The company’s long history is told in 272 pages and 598 illustra- tions in a new book, DuPont: From the Banks of the Brandywine to Miracles of Science, by historian Adrian Kinnane. Distrib- uted by Johns Hopkins University Press, it is available from the distributor at www.jhubooks.com and through onlineretailers. In the country’s early years, DuPont explosives helped build canals, railroads, ports, harbors, dams and mines. Its munitions helped the U.S. win wars. Kinnane writes: “The company’s diversification into plastics, dyes and synthetic materials after 1900 matched new technologies to the needs of a complex, maturing society.” Its pioneering research yielded new products such as neoprene and nylon. Its services in the Manhattan Project helped end WW II and its materials were in ~~ & Stan OY Peaetre tate et]ae of the Brandywine | Miracles of Science From black powder to poly- ester and beyond, science has fueled our country’s progress. 23 of the 25 layers of the suit Neil Armstrong wore when he walked on the moon in 1969. The book has been praised by historians such as Professor Carol Hoffecker of the University of Delaware, who said it “com- mands the reader’s interest from the moment one opens its dust jacket until one finishes its last page. It makes wonderful use of historic and modern photographs but its text is its most important asset. Kinnane has used authoritative historical sources to produce an excellent introduction to the 200-year-old history of this ever-changing, complex American business.” Today, DuPont has operations in 70 countries, providing some of the world’s most advanced materials, services and technologies.
