Virginia Postrel - The Fabric of Civilization: How Textiles Made the World

The Fabric of Civilization: How Textiles Made the World is one of the most compelling books Ive ever read on the history of textileswitty, well-researched, and full of fascinating things Id never known despite being quite well-read on textile technology. (Did you know that letters of credit from clothiers helped build the early European banking system? Or that aniline dyes were one of the earliest applications of organic chemistry?) If you thought Elizabeth Wayland Barbers Womens Work: The First 20,000 Years was interesting, youll swoon over this book. I loved it.

Tien Chiu, weaver, teacher, and author of Master Your Craft

Postrels brilliant, learned, addictive book tells a story of human ingenuity. Her deep story is of the liberty that permitted progress. Presently the descendants of slaves and serfs and textile workers got closets full of beauty, and fabric for the cold, a Great Enrichment since 1800 of three thousand percent.

Deirdre Nansen McCloskey, author of the Bourgeois Era trilogy

Cleanly written and completely accessible, this book opens up an entirely new world of textiles, explaining the most ancient archeological fabrics and the latest polymer blends that cool the bodynot warm it as textiles have done for thousands of yearswith equal verve.

Valerie Hansen, author of The Year 1000

The Fabric of Civilization is more engaging and informative than any textile science or textile history course that I studied in college. Postrel has distilled thousands of years of the making and manipulation of string (thread) into a comprehensible read whether or not you have knowledge of its invention or the current bio-engineering research. She has woven in personal experiences; interviewed historians, computer programmers, scientists, textile archeologists, and contemporary and indigenous artisans; and gone behind the scenes in textile laboratories and manufacturing plants. After reading this book, I felt like I had wandered the world for centuries using fabric for my currency and wealth. I had won political battles in its name. I had been sickened as well as healed by it. And now I am an inventor synthesizing environmentally healthy fabric by means of chemicals. My appreciation and knowledge of how textiles make the world have been greatly enhanced.

Marilyn Murphy, cofounder ClothRoads and former president of Interweave

Fiber artists of any stripe, prepare for a juicy read through a new book on textile history! Virginia Postrels new book will turn your old ideas about fabric and civilization down unexpected pathways. The Fabric of Civilization is divided into chapters loosely related to individual textile processes, such as spinning, weaving, and dyeing, and the author points out that textiles are the basis of our number systems, our banking, our commerce, and our science. This book is full of stories of individuals who innovated entire systems because of their sensitivity to textile processes. The author actually learned to spin and weave while writing this book, and her explanations and diagrams are spot on. Profusely illustrated with photos and diagrams, and contains a comprehensive bibliography. Highly recommended.

Alice Schlein, weaver and author of Network Drafting and The Woven Pixel

The Fabric of Civilization: How Textiles Made the World chronicles the laborious and cumulative innovations that allow cloth to play an essential role in our comfort, cultural identity, and our dependence on programmable functions. At times, the fabric of society appears threadbare but, based on the global nature of textiles, it is comforting to know that all cultures have a shared experience. Postrel reminds us that we are all woven together with colorful threads.

Susie Taylor, artist

To my parents, Sam and Sue Inman, and to Steven