This biography highlights the achievements of America's first professional degreed female scientist, Ellen Swallow Richards (1842—1911). The book takes the reader from Richards's childhood on a Massachusetts farm where she was schooled at home, to her internationally renowned successes in multiple branches of science.

• Schools, colleges, and libraries are searching for more books about remarkable, successful women. Richards paved the way for women to enter numerous fields of science previously believed to be the domain of men.
• Currently there is much emphasis on nutrition; Richards pioneered in this field, teaching the American public about fats, carbohydrates, proteins and calories at a time when scarcely anyone knew of their importance.
• Ellen Swallow Richards pioneered multiple fields of science and technology, opening doors for women to become chemists, biologists, geologists, ecologists, nutritionists, dietitians, science teachers, professors, and home economists.
• Richards began the ecology movement, particularly relevant in today's world as more and more attention is being paid to the health of our planet.