150 years ago, a Swiss immigrant took America by storm, launching American science. The charismatic Louis Agassiz focused his prodigious energies on zoology while also making a name for himself discovering how Ice Age glaciers formed. Invited to deliver a series of lectures in Boston, he never left, becoming the most famous scientist of his time. A pioneer in field research and an obsessive collector, Agassiz enlisted the American public in a vast campaign to send him natural specimens, dead or alive, for his ingeniously conceived museum of comparative zoology. As an educator of enduring impact, he trained a generation of American scientists and science teachers, men and women alike.

Irmscher uncovers the dark side, too, of this founding father of modern American science, revealing little-known details of the pitched battle between Darwin and Agassiz, his arch-enemy regarding the theory of evolution. And he sheds original, provocative light on Agassiz's role in post-Civil War racial policies.

A fascinating life story—both inspiring and cautionary—for anyone interested in the history of American ideas.

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