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 n...

Buy Now From Amazon

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).

Similar Products

Empire of Cotton: A Global HistoryEmpire of Cotton: A Global HistoryTobacco: A Cultural History of How an Exotic Plant Seduced CivilizationThe Victorian Internet: The Remarkable Story of the Telegraph and the Nineteenth Century's On-line PioneersSalt: A World History