In the tradition of Mark Kurlansky's Cod and Salt, this endlessly revealing book reminds us that the fiber we think of as ordinary is the world's most powerful cash crop, and that it has shaped the destiny of nations. Ranging from its domestication 5,500 years ago to its influence in creating Calvin Klein's empire and the Gap, Stephen Yafa's Cotton gives us an intimate look at the plant that fooled Columbus into thinking he'd reached India, that helped start the Industrial Revolution as well as the American Civil War, and that made at least one bug—the boll weevil—world famous. A sweeping chronicle of ingenuity, greed, conflict, and opportunism, Cotton offers "a barrage of fascinating information" (Los Angeles Times).
Cotton: The Biography of a Revolutionary Fiber
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Editorial Reviews
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"I have to hand it to Mr. Yafa. Cotton rules." —The Wall Street Journal
"With wit and intelligence, Yafa demonstrates how a good deal of history can be learned by following a single thread." —The Washington Post
"A comprehensive and often surprising history [of a crop that changed the world]." —USA Today
"With wit and intelligence, Yafa demonstrates how a good deal of history can be learned by following a single thread." —The Washington Post
"A comprehensive and often surprising history [of a crop that changed the world]." —USA Today
About the Author
Stephen Yafa, a novelist, playwright, and award-winning screenwriter, has written for Playboy, Details, Rolling Stone, and the San Francisco Chronicle.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
this is a wonderful read,
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Cotton: The Biography of a Revolutionary Fiber (Mass Market Paperback)
purchased this book as a fiber artist wanting to know more. The subject was covered so well with many facets of interest. So well written, moves well, and never boring. Glad it was recommended to me by another fiber artist.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Very thorough and very interesting.,
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Cotton: The Biography of a Revolutionary Fiber (Kindle Edition)
I've got this on my Kindle and I'll re-read it again in the future; it's that interesting! All you ever wanted to know about cotton and more. The comparison about the collapse of the cotton market to the collapse of our car market is compelling, because our economy was affected in both cases in the same way. Our car executives should have read this book years ago; but then, wait, it hadn't been published yet. Interesting enough for the general public, it will be very enlightening to any student of industry and economics. Get a Kindle so you can have this book on hnd when you need it.
4.0 out of 5 stars
interesting,
By Lindsey (Dartmouth, MA United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Cotton: The Biography of a Revolutionary Fiber (Paperback)
was assigned this book for reading for a textitles class before visiting the textile museum in lowell, ma. beginning was slow, but history was interesting...didn't know all this about this simple fiber!
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Inside This Book
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First Sentence:
For a scrawny, gangling plant that produces hairs about as insubstantial as milkweed, cotton has exerted a mighty hold over human events since it was first domesticated about 5,500 years ago in Asia, Africa, and South America. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
loom lords, weevil blues, boll weevil eradication, waist overalls, organic cotton, cotton subsidies, cotton council, water frame, wage hands, upland cotton, cotton farmers Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
New England, United States, New York, South Carolina, New Orleans, Levi Strauss, Boston Associates, Great Britain, New World, North Carolina, San Francisco, The Offering, West African, West Indies, Eli Whitney, Sea Island, World War, George Washington, Lords of the Loom, Nate Shaw, Old World, The Barber, Francis Cabot Lowell, Looming Conflicts, Mississippi Delta New!
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Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
For a scrawny, gangling plant that produces hairs about as insubstantial as milkweed, cotton has exerted a mighty hold over human events since it was first domesticated about 5,500 years ago in Asia, Africa, and South America. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
loom lords, weevil blues, boll weevil eradication, waist overalls, organic cotton, cotton subsidies, cotton council, water frame, wage hands, upland cotton, cotton farmers Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
New England, United States, New York, South Carolina, New Orleans, Levi Strauss, Boston Associates, Great Britain, New World, North Carolina, San Francisco, The Offering, West African, West Indies, Eli Whitney, Sea Island, World War, George Washington, Lords of the Loom, Nate Shaw, Old World, The Barber, Francis Cabot Lowell, Looming Conflicts, Mississippi Delta New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
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