Fabric: The Hidden History of the Material World
- Downloads：4474
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2022-10-13 16:21:34
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Victoria Finlay
- ISBN：1639363904
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
Reviews
Pam White
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I throughly enjoyed this book， peppered with her own thoughts and perceptions for interest， the facts are presented in a clear concise and entertaining way。 I just ordered the hardcover because reading on my kindle did not allow for great viewing of the photos in the book， but I liked it that much！ It will be a part of my library。 I am a knitter and have done some weaving so her descriptions of warp and weft were familiar to me so it’s hard to judge if they are confusing to others。 I just wish m I throughly enjoyed this book， peppered with her own thoughts and perceptions for interest， the facts are presented in a clear concise and entertaining way。 I just ordered the hardcover because reading on my kindle did not allow for great viewing of the photos in the book， but I liked it that much！ It will be a part of my library。 I am a knitter and have done some weaving so her descriptions of warp and weft were familiar to me so it’s hard to judge if they are confusing to others。 I just wish my memory would allow me to keep all the stories to tell but I seem to forget the details as I move on to new chapters， another reason I ordered the hardcover。 Definitely recommend！ 。。。more
Caitlin Bronson
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Never thought I would read a 500+ page book about fabric！ And yet here I am。 I enjoyed this book a lot。 It wasn’t just a look into the history of fabric， it was a fully contextual dive into environmentalism， geography， cultural history， history of the labor movement and current labor issues， and of course the many uses of fabric， from tent material for Yukon miners to the silk fabrics of the landed gentry。 The author is very approachable and engaging， and she writes this book as a history， a tra Never thought I would read a 500+ page book about fabric！ And yet here I am。 I enjoyed this book a lot。 It wasn’t just a look into the history of fabric， it was a fully contextual dive into environmentalism， geography， cultural history， history of the labor movement and current labor issues， and of course the many uses of fabric， from tent material for Yukon miners to the silk fabrics of the landed gentry。 The author is very approachable and engaging， and she writes this book as a history， a travelogue， and most personally， a memoir following the death of her parents。 It ranged from funny to interesting to moving。 I’d love to see this adapted for something like a podcast or docuseries。 Great information and greater stories。 。。。more
Jenn Adams
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Who knew that learning the back story of fabric in general and all different types of fabric could be this interesting？ Finlay takes us with her on her journey around the world as she researched this book。 She weaves personal stories in， which doesn't always work for me， but here it was seamless （pun intended）。 Would recommend。 Who knew that learning the back story of fabric in general and all different types of fabric could be this interesting？ Finlay takes us with her on her journey around the world as she researched this book。 She weaves personal stories in， which doesn't always work for me， but here it was seamless （pun intended）。 Would recommend。 。。。more
Nicole
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At first this book felt entirely too patchwork and autobiographical for me to truly enjoy。 As with all the author’s previous works， it was exceptionally well researched and well written， but it was not until the end that I realized this book was meant to be the patchwork quilt her mother promised to help her make at her father’s death。 As much as it is the story of fabric， it always harkens back to the the Greek Fates and Norse Norns， for whom thread and fabric marked death as well as life。 My o At first this book felt entirely too patchwork and autobiographical for me to truly enjoy。 As with all the author’s previous works， it was exceptionally well researched and well written， but it was not until the end that I realized this book was meant to be the patchwork quilt her mother promised to help her make at her father’s death。 As much as it is the story of fabric， it always harkens back to the the Greek Fates and Norse Norns， for whom thread and fabric marked death as well as life。 My only regret is that I couldn’t see the true beauty of this book until there very end。 。。。more
Carrie
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Fascinating exploration of the origin of fabrics from around the world。 I didn't love how it was also a story of the author's grief over the death of her parents--it seemed intrusive and awkward， better suited for a memoir or diary--but the rest was interesting enough to overcome my slight misgivings。 Fascinating exploration of the origin of fabrics from around the world。 I didn't love how it was also a story of the author's grief over the death of her parents--it seemed intrusive and awkward， better suited for a memoir or diary--but the rest was interesting enough to overcome my slight misgivings。 。。。more
Sacha
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Briefly Noted in NYer
Dörte
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Very thoughtful research。 Highly recommend it
Sally Daffarn
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This is a very powerful book， not just about fabric but about lives encountered all over the world and one very poignant ending。 I read this on Kindle。 If you do too be aware that the end is about 3/4 of the way through after which are beautiful photos of the fabrics mentioned in the book， in colour if you look on another device and then a very comprehensive index very useful for rereading sections。
Beatrice
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This was really excellent — a big step up from the color book。
E
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This was so so boring。 So disappointing。
Beryl Sortino
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A wonderful history for those who love fabrics…。Annie。 A treat awaits in last chapter。
Christy-JC Carter
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This is an impressive accomplishment。 It is readable， accessible， touching， and informative。 I enjoyed the travel log aspect， as well as the memoir about losing her parents。 It is an unusual book， however， so I didn’t finish it with a lot of material I could use easily for my classes。 It’s kind of a blend of history， a lot of detail， travel stories， and grief memoir。 I ended up skimming a lot， because I knew I just couldn’t retain the detail， but I enjoyed following her lines of inquiry， her sen This is an impressive accomplishment。 It is readable， accessible， touching， and informative。 I enjoyed the travel log aspect， as well as the memoir about losing her parents。 It is an unusual book， however， so I didn’t finish it with a lot of material I could use easily for my classes。 It’s kind of a blend of history， a lot of detail， travel stories， and grief memoir。 I ended up skimming a lot， because I knew I just couldn’t retain the detail， but I enjoyed following her lines of inquiry， her sense of humor， and her candor。 。。。more
Desiree
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It is a very informative book， of course about fabric but there is also a history lesson from all over the world woven into it。 From slavery to India to the Bible， all has something to do fabric。 Overall， it was a very interesting and enjoyable read and experience。 I would recommend to people that really are super interested in fabric （Duh its about fabric） because there are some points that are super dense and could be boring。 I just do not think that it would be a good read for someone that ju It is a very informative book， of course about fabric but there is also a history lesson from all over the world woven into it。 From slavery to India to the Bible， all has something to do fabric。 Overall， it was a very interesting and enjoyable read and experience。 I would recommend to people that really are super interested in fabric （Duh its about fabric） because there are some points that are super dense and could be boring。 I just do not think that it would be a good read for someone that just picked it up on a whim。 （Like I did but shhhhhhh the cover was pretty。）Things that I love about this book- The way her personal life and struggle with learning about each fabric is interwoven into the story。 I love the first two chapters， like so much。- The way it is written。 The language， that makes a topic such as fabric， that seems pretty dull to read about， extremely enjoyable。- I like the map of the Earth in the beginning of the book。 It’s helpful to refer back to， since there are so many places around the world mentioned。- This book really makes you think about the unexpected impact of fabric throughout it。 Which I really enjoyed- Some bits are very wholesome。 Like the authors interactions with the people in Port Moresby， Papua New Guinea。- The last chapter about her mother made me cryThings that I did not like about the book- Some sentences are weird to read， like I had to re-read quite a bit to understand some parts。 Although I did read this while very sleep-deprived so take that with a grain of salt。- It covers a LOT which is not a bad thing but it does make it a very long， at some points dense read。 It felt like I had to push through a big portion of certain chapters because it was just so much。 But again is not a bad thing to some， for me though it was a lot。- Some chapters are wayyyyy longer then others。 For example， the chapter Cotton was about 100 pages long and the chapter Tweed was about 27 pages long。 It honestly felt like I was reading about for yearsssss。- The placement of the pictures that were in color was very weird。 They were just added randomly in the linen chapter， for example a picture of Tapa is the first picture， which is very pretty but out of place in the linen chapter。 I feel like it would not have been so out of place if they were added in their respective chapters。 。。。more
CallahansBooks
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For my marbles， the most ambitious books are those that attempt to tell the story of something impossibly large。 I love the chutzpah of an author who looks at a Godzilla topic and says “yeah let me toss a lasso ‘round that。” Good luck！But why shouldn’t Victoria Finlay craft the history of fabric into an enlightening book for a mainstream audience？ We already know she’s good with a lasso。 In her book “Color: A Natural History of the Palette” Finlay tackled a subject so familiar that one may never For my marbles， the most ambitious books are those that attempt to tell the story of something impossibly large。 I love the chutzpah of an author who looks at a Godzilla topic and says “yeah let me toss a lasso ‘round that。” Good luck！But why shouldn’t Victoria Finlay craft the history of fabric into an enlightening book for a mainstream audience？ We already know she’s good with a lasso。 In her book “Color: A Natural History of the Palette” Finlay tackled a subject so familiar that one may never have considered it to have a life of its own。 The genius is in first recognizing the historical significance of color — and now fabric — and then delighting readers with vivid details from a dramatic historical canon。‘Fabric’ takes you around the world to see how & why different cultures developed unique textiles， and what consequences were spawned from these preferences。 From antiquity to the industrial revolution; from Alabama to Guatemala， you might feel like Phileas Fogg （or Bill & Ted！） turning pages through time and space。 The deeply researched travelogue aspect of ‘Fabric’ was great， but anticipated。 The author’s openness in writing about the loss of her parents was unexpected and added a sadly relatable layer to her story。 Suffering this bereavement shortly before work on the book began in earnest， Finlay’s personal journey through grief gave ‘Fabric’ a rich human texture。 Not only did she lasso another Godzilla of a topic: she did it with a broken heart。Review copy gifted by publisher。 。。。more
Elizabeth
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A personal and quirky telling of the history of fabric， it is excellent and memorable。 Includes one or two fabrics omitted from more traditional books。 Thank you to the person who gave this to me。
Kim
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I enjoyed this more than I thought I would。 It is the story of a woman’s aim to write a book about fabrics…linen， silk， wool etc…。encouraged by her family。 But it is also interwoven， no pun intended， with the story of the loss of her parents， one expected and one unexpected。As I am a crafter， trying various crafts such as sewing， weaving and spinning， I found the history of the fabric very interesting and how she travelled to see it being made。 I actually liked that plans sometimes went awry and I enjoyed this more than I thought I would。 It is the story of a woman’s aim to write a book about fabrics…linen， silk， wool etc…。encouraged by her family。 But it is also interwoven， no pun intended， with the story of the loss of her parents， one expected and one unexpected。As I am a crafter， trying various crafts such as sewing， weaving and spinning， I found the history of the fabric very interesting and how she travelled to see it being made。 I actually liked that plans sometimes went awry and she didn’t always meet her original aims but that life took her in another direction to tell a slightly different story。 。。。more
MargCal
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Paused at p。 26
Susan
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A truly beautiful book in so many ways， looking at the role fabric plays in our lives， how it is made， how it has developed over the years in different parts of the world， the myths and stories surrounding its significance。 At the same time， Victoria Finlay is exploring her own grief at the loss of her parents and weaves （excuse the pun， but the book is full of how we use textile related words in our everyday speech） their stories and her emotions into the narrative。 At first， I felt that these A truly beautiful book in so many ways， looking at the role fabric plays in our lives， how it is made， how it has developed over the years in different parts of the world， the myths and stories surrounding its significance。 At the same time， Victoria Finlay is exploring her own grief at the loss of her parents and weaves （excuse the pun， but the book is full of how we use textile related words in our everyday speech） their stories and her emotions into the narrative。 At first， I felt that these stories were an unnecessary addition， but by the end， I appreciated her message。 Fabrics and textiles play a part in all out lives from the moment we are born and are wrapped in cloths or baby clothes to the moment we die and are laid to rest。 Fabrics are not merely utilitarian garments to keep us warm， but have a beauty and meaning beyond。 This exploration of multiple cultures from China to India， to Papua New Guinea to Wales and Scotland through the medium of fabrics is well worth a read。 。。。more
R Silver
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LOVED this book- an absolute rave！ True confessions: I bought this for my sister; read it first; gave it to her; and， then bought a second copy for myself！ Interesting information on textiles， industrialization， communities and globalization。 But told as a personal journey of the author dealing with the death of her parents。 Sounds like lots of work or a ‘heavy thinking’ book？ Not really。 The writing flows and the stories carry the informational content。
Viola
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“Living in a material world 。。。 🎶 “ - Di Alexis Materialism。 Unwind herstory through cloth – how we make it， use it and what it means to us – with the beautifully illustrated #Fabric by @victoriafinlay。uk。bookshop。org/books/fabric-the-hidden-history-of-the-material-world/9781781257067
Kara Jorgensen
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