somestuff's review against another edition
5.0
really compelling
learned a lot and it truly has smth for everyone space and sports and bugs and mummies and vikings and ships and sheep and the industrial revolution it’s all there
st clair does stick strong to her guns on BC/AD time demarcations and in the audiobook the pronunciation of nike (without the e like night with a k) is truly amusing
learned a lot and it truly has smth for everyone space and sports and bugs and mummies and vikings and ships and sheep and the industrial revolution it’s all there
st clair does stick strong to her guns on BC/AD time demarcations and in the audiobook the pronunciation of nike (without the e like night with a k) is truly amusing
cloudss's review against another edition
informative
medium-paced
5.0
ancient prehistory thread? viking sails? egyptian linens? swimsuit controversy?? antarctica everest before synthetic fabrics? SPACESUITS?! (this club has it all)
Fascinating vignettes of textile history and its importance in our lives that often goes unnoticed and unappreciated. Most often women’s work.
Fascinating vignettes of textile history and its importance in our lives that often goes unnoticed and unappreciated. Most often women’s work.
tourthebookshelf's review
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
5.0
Very informative. Really inspired me to sew and also take more of an interest in specifically which fabrics I use.
It could do with a couple of pages of glossy photos as I found myself reaching for my phone at least once a chapter to see the fabrics she was describing.
It could do with a couple of pages of glossy photos as I found myself reaching for my phone at least once a chapter to see the fabrics she was describing.
aceofknives's review against another edition
funny
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Colonisation, Classism, Racism, Racial slurs, Body horror, Sexism, Trafficking, Injury/injury detail, Genocide, Slavery, and Antisemitism
Moderate: Vomit, Cultural appropriation, Xenophobia, and War
This is a great overview of some of the important ways cloth, spinning, and fashion have influenced culture from the bringing of humanity. It deals with some heavy topics in an academic and explanatory way. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in fashion history or textiles. The author carefully navigates cultural many times and places and points out a long history of misogony, racism, and exploration that in seperable from the story of cloth. There is also some pretty gross content like how astronauts don't use a restroom. There is a candle made of human fat so be ready for that.deanna_etc's review against another edition
3.0
I received a copy of this books through a Goodreads giveaway. I was excited to read it! I'm assuming the advanced copy I received will look different from the final version (the layout seemed wonky), but nonetheless, there were many interesting forays into different fibers and fabrics.
kendramichele's review against another edition
2.5
Textiles are often taken for granted, despite the breadth of influence on our lives. From status to labor, modesty to vanity, clothing has always been a dynamic landscape for displays of power, and history has seen fabric evolve alongside rhetoric time and time again.
It feels harsh to give this two stars when there is plenty of promising, even fascinating, material within this book ... but ultimately, the journalistic approach did my reading experience no favors.
The writing felt dry, leaving me bored and struggling to finish certain chapters. The structure of the book failed to weave the narrative together cohesively.
I would never call any book that leaves me curious to know more about its subject a failure, and if anything, what this book did best was offer a reminder of the skill, dexterity and forethought that goes into the design and construction of fabrics. I will definitely be seeking out more books that deal with this fascinating aspect of our world history.
It feels harsh to give this two stars when there is plenty of promising, even fascinating, material within this book ... but ultimately, the journalistic approach did my reading experience no favors.
The writing felt dry, leaving me bored and struggling to finish certain chapters. The structure of the book failed to weave the narrative together cohesively.
I would never call any book that leaves me curious to know more about its subject a failure, and if anything, what this book did best was offer a reminder of the skill, dexterity and forethought that goes into the design and construction of fabrics. I will definitely be seeking out more books that deal with this fascinating aspect of our world history.