Regarded as the world's first geneticist, Gregor Mendel overcame poverty and obscurity to discover one of the fundamental aspects of genetic science: how traits are inherited from one generation to the next. This biography, with illustrations that show the early scientist's progress, tells the story of his remarkable life. From a young age, Mendel had a hunger for knowledge, which he pursued despite many hardships. Eventually, he found some comfort as a monk, where he was able to put into practice his great experiment: growing generations of peas. From observing yellow peas, green peas, smooth peas, and wrinkly peas, Mendel crafted his theory of genes - years before other scientists started to pay attention to the question of inheritability. Mendel's never-ending search for knowledge is inspiring and the simple experiments he did with peas to reach his discoveries are easy to understand for all readers.