Unraveling the Past: Exploring the Impact of Fabric on World History

Gill: You will not take cloth for granted after reading this book. A fascinating study of both the fabric we wear from cradle to grave and of human world history. Accessibly written. Go and look at the Egyptian mummies after reading section on linen!

United Kingdom on Sep 03, 2023

DJPE: An interesting perspective on history

United Kingdom on Aug 28, 2023

Chantal: Livre passionnant, très bien écrit, je recommande à toute personne intéressée par l'histoire des textiles.

France on Jun 15, 2023

Mary Ross: Loved the book. Very informative!

United States on Apr 26, 2023

Gayle Bach-Watson: I was enjoying the book very much, until I got to the opening pages of Chapter 6, there I found a rather large error. Now I'm not sure if I want to continue reading the book, nor am I totally comfortable that what I have already read is error-free.

United States on Mar 22, 2023

Diana47: I'm a weaver and spinner and loved "The Color Red" so I thought this might be interesting. It is, but I found myself looking for images of Queen Elizabeth I's portraits to check out the lace ruffs. The descriptions are good, but images would be better. I found the essays on cotton, rayon and the Everest and Antarctic expeditions the most enlightening.

United States on Feb 08, 2023

Tori: Pretty nice book.

United States on Jan 21, 2023

Bonnie Penton: This book is for my personal collection.

Canada on Oct 26, 2022

M. Harper: I loved the author's previous book on colours because I'm a complete colour geek and I'd hoped that she would do the same for fabrics here but instead it's a series of articles on the history of a particular fabric, and how that fabric has been used at times in history.

As one of my other fascinations is textiles I did find this interesting. Kassia starts with a section on linen and how it was used in ancient Egyptian society, moves on to silk and the silk routes, wool and its importance in middle ages society then has a discourse on the development of fabrics for polar explorers and mountaineers through the last 100 years and other fabrics for other sports. She has some interesting chapters on the development of spacesuits turning up details I didn't know about and ends investigating the difficulties of milking spiders for their webs and making artificial spider silk.

I've marked it down because the illustrations are a bit crude (and the snowflakes have eight sides whereas everyone, except the BBC, knows they have six) and the copy editing could have been better in places. As other reviewers have said; it could do with illustrations of the fabrics and/or the...

United Kingdom on Sep 01, 2019

Fred Cheyunski: Hearing St. Clair describing her book on public radio, caught my attention, and led me to look into this text. My mother ran/owned a fabric store for many years where she and my sister were involved with many aspects of sewing personally and as part of the business. Given my family involvement, I was fascinated to see this history and context for textile origins, its progression, and perspective on its influence in our lives.

After an Introduction, the author proceeds through almost self-contained thirteen chapters that ‘cover’ her subject and ‘weave the story.’ More specifically, she deals with: (1) Fibers in the Cave: The Origins of Weaving, (2) Dead Men’s Shroud: Wrapping and Unwrapping Mummies, (3) Gifts and Horses: Silk in Ancient China, (4) Cities that Silk Built: The Silk Roads, (5) Surf Dragons: The Vikings Woolen Sails, (6) A King’s Ransom: Wool in Medieval England, (7) Diamonds and the Ruff: Lace and Luxury, (8) Solomon’s Coats: Cotton, America and Trade, (9) Layering in Extremis: Clothing to Conquer Everest and the South Pole, (10) Workers in the Factory: Rayon’s Dark Past, (11) Under Pressure: Suites Suitable for Space, (12) Harder, Better,...

United States on May 15, 2019