“A journey as epic, and varying, as the Silk Road itself...[The Fabric of Civilization is] like a swatch of a Florentine Renaissance brocade: carefully woven, the technique precise, the colors a mix of shade and shine and an accurate representation of the whole cloth” (The New York Times)The story of humanity is the story of textiles―as old as civilization itself. Since the first thread was spun, the need for textiles has driven technology, busine...

Whether it's sleek leather pants, a shiny new Apple computer, or a designer toaster, we make important decisions as consumers every day based on our sensory experience. Sensory appeals are everywhere, and they are intensifying, radically changing how Americans live and work. The twenty-first century has become the age of aesthetics, and whether we realize it or not, this influence has taken over the marketplace, and much more.In this penetrating, keenly observed book, Virginia Post...

Today we have greater wealth, health, opportunity, and choice than at any time in history. Yet a chorus of intellectuals and politicians laments our current condition -- as slaves to technology, coarsened by popular culture, and insecure in the face of economic change. The future, they tell us, is dangerously out of control, and unless we precisely govern the forces of change, we risk disaster.In The Future and Its Enemies, Virginia Postrel explodes the myths behind these ...

In provocative detail with more than one hundred illustrations, critically acclaimed author Virginia Postrel separates glamour from glitz, revealing what qualities make a person, an object, a setting, or an experience glamorous.What is it that creates that pleasurable pang of desire—the feeling of “if only”? If only I could wear those clothes, belong to that group, drive that car, live in that house, be (or be with) that person? Postrel identifies the three essenti...

“A journey as epic, and varying, as the Silk Road itself...[The Fabric of Civilization is] like a swatch of a Florentine Renaissance brocade: carefully woven, the technique precise, the colors a mix of shade and shine and an accurate representation of the whole cloth” (The New York Times)The story of humanity is the story of textiles―as old as civilization itself. Since the first thread was spun, the need for textiles has driven technology, busine...

New discoveries about the textile arts reveal women's unexpectedly influential role in ancient societies.Twenty thousand years ago, women were making and wearing the first clothing created from spun fibers. In fact, right up to the Industrial Revolution the fiber arts were an enormous economic force, belonging primarily to women.Despite the great toil required in making cloth and clothing, most books on ancient history and economics have no information on them. Much of this...

** A RADIO 4 BOOK OF THE WEEK **'Fascinating . . . The history of the world through the eye of a needle . . . I recommend this book to anyone' THE SPECTATOR'A charming, absorbing and history that takes us on a journey from the silk roads to sportswear, from ruffs to spacesuits . . . I devoured this quietly feminist book' SUNDAY TIMES'Joyful and beautiful' NATURE**'Will make you rethink ...

"A fascinating history of…[a craft] that preceded and made possible civilization itself." —New York Times Book ReviewNew discoveries about the textile arts reveal women's unexpectedly influential role in ancient societies.Twenty thousand years ago, women were making and wearing the first clothing created from spun fibers. In fact, right up to the Industrial Revolution the fiber arts were an enormous economic force, belonging primarily to women....

The discovery and deciphering of Europe's earliest known written language is recounted with "almost nail-biting suspense" in this prize-winning account ( Booklist, starred review).In 1900, famed archaeologist Arthur Evans uncovered the ruins of Knossos, a sophisticated Bronze Age civilization that flowered on Crete 1,000 years before Greece's Classical Age. The massive discovery included a cache of ancient tablets, Europe's earliest written records. For hal...

An enthralling and delightful introduction to the strange world of quantum theory, an essential element in understanding modern society“A gripping account of the history of quantum mechanics and a clear description of its significance—and weirdness. Absolutely fascinating.”—Isaac AsimovThe question this book addresses is “What is reality?” The answer(s) may surprise you; you may not believe them. But you will find out how contemporary s...

Flapper is a dazzling look at the women who heralded a radical change in American culture and launched the first truly modern decade.The New Woman of the 1920s puffed cigarettes, snuck gin, hiked her hemlines, danced the Charleston, and necked in roadsters. More important, she earned her own keep, controlled her own destiny, and secured liberties that modern women take for granted.Flapper is an inside look at the 1920s. With tales of Coco ...

"Hecht gleefully invites readers on a lively stroll through three millennia of clashes between believers and nonbelievers" ( Detroit Free Press )."Jennifer Hect's romp—lighthearted but serious—brings to life an awesome array of figures in philosophy, science, and literature, in a way that is wonderfully engaging." —Howard Zinn, author of A People's History of the United States