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The Fabric of Civilization

How Textiles Made the World

by Virginia Postrel ...

“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, ... Read more

Was $14.99 USD Now $2.99 USD

Also available as: Audiobook

“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,
... Read more

Also available as: Audiobook
The Substance of Style

How the Rise of Aesthetic Value Is Remaking Commerce, Culture, and Consciousness

by Virginia Postrel ...

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 ... Read more

$12.99 USD or Free with Kobo Plus

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
... Read more
The Power of Glamour

Longing and the Art of Visual Persuasion

by Virginia Postrel ...

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 ... Read more

$13.99 USD

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
... Read more
The Future and Its Enemies

The Growing Conflict Over Creativity, Enterprise,

by Virginia Postrel ...

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 ... Read more

$13.99 USD

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
... Read more
Audiobook

The Fabric of Civilization

How Textiles Made the World

by Virginia Postrel ...

Narrated by Caroline Turner Cole ...

Unabridged

9 hours 43 min

“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, ... Read more

$27.99 USD

Also available as: eBook

“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,
... Read more

Also available as: eBook

Audiobook

Salt

A World History

by Mark Kurlansky ...

Narrated by Scott Brick ...

Unabridged

13 hours 48 min

An extraordinary look at an ordinary substance—and one we'd be dead without: salt.Salt has shaped civilization from the very beginning, and the story of this common household seasoning proves a fascinating one. In a kaleidoscope of history, Mark Kurlansky—bestselling author of  1968 and Cod—blends economic, scientific political, religious, and culinary elements to produce this tasty account of ... Read more

$39.95 USD or Free with Kobo Plus

Also available as: eBook

An extraordinary look at an ordinary substance—and one we'd be dead without: salt.Salt has shaped civilization from the very beginning, and the story of this common household seasoning proves a fascinating one. In a kaleidoscope of history, Mark Kurlansky—bestselling author of  1968 and Cod—blends economic, scientific political, religious, and culinary elements to produce this tasty account of
... Read more

Also available as: eBook
Audiobook

We Refuse

A Forceful History of Black Resistance

by Kellie Carter Jackson ...

Narrated by Kellie Carter Jackson ...

Unabridged

9 hours 11 min

Black resistance to white supremacy is often reduced to a simple binary, between Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s nonviolence and Malcolm X's "by any means necessary." In We Refuse, historian Kellie Carter Jackson urges us to move past this false choice, offering an unflinching examination of the breadth of Black responses to white oppression, particularly those pioneered by Black women.The dismissal ... Read more

$20.99 USD or Free with Kobo Plus

Also available as: eBook

Black resistance to white supremacy is often reduced to a simple binary, between Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s nonviolence and Malcolm X's "by any means necessary." In We Refuse, historian Kellie Carter Jackson urges us to move past this false choice, offering an unflinching examination of the breadth of Black responses to white oppression, particularly those pioneered by Black women.The dismissal
... Read more

Also available as: eBook
Audiobook

Witchcraft

A History in Thirteen Trials

by Marion Gibson ...

Narrated by Rose Akroyd ...

Unabridged

11 hours 2 min

National BestsellerA New Yorker Best Book of 2024A “thought-provoking and timely” (The Times, London) global history of witch trials across Europe, Africa, and the Americas, told through thirteen distinct trials that illuminate a pattern of demonization and conspiratorial thinking that has profoundly shaped human history.This “inventive and compelling” (The Times Literary Supplement, London... ... Read more

$26.99 USD

Also available as: eBook

National BestsellerA New Yorker Best Book of 2024A “thought-provoking and timely” (The Times, London) global history of witch trials across Europe, Africa, and the Americas, told through thirteen distinct trials that illuminate a pattern of demonization and conspiratorial thinking that has profoundly shaped human history.This “inventive and compelling” (The Times Literary Supplement, London...
... Read more

Also available as: eBook
Audiobook

Rome and Persia

The Seven Hundred Year Rivalry

by Adrian Goldsworthy ...

Narrated by Mark Elstob ...

Unabridged

20 hours 25 min

**The extraordinary history of the epic rivalry between the ancient world’s two great superpowers.“Magnificent.” —Spectator**The Roman Empire was like no other. Stretching from the north of Britain to the Sahara, and from the Atlantic coast to the Euphrates, it imposed peace and prosperity on an unprecedented scale. Its only true rival lay in the east, where the Parthian and then Persian empires ... Read more

$44.99 USD

Also available as: eBook

**The extraordinary history of the epic rivalry between the ancient world’s two great superpowers.“Magnificent.” —Spectator**The Roman Empire was like no other. Stretching from the north of Britain to the Sahara, and from the Atlantic coast to the Euphrates, it imposed peace and prosperity on an unprecedented scale. Its only true rival lay in the east, where the Parthian and then Persian empires
... Read more

Also available as: eBook
Audiobook

Children of Ash and Elm

A History of the Vikings

by Neil Price ...

Narrated by Samuel Roukin ...

Unabridged

17 hours 25 min

The definitive history of the Vikings—from arts and culture to politics and cosmology—by a distinguished archaeologist with decades of expertiseThe Viking Age—from 750 to 1050—saw an unprecedented expansion of the Scandinavian peoples into the wider world. As traders and raiders, explorers and colonists, they ranged from eastern North America to the Asian steppe. But for centuries, the Vikings ... Read more

$30.99 USD or Free with Kobo Plus

Also available as: eBook

The definitive history of the Vikings—from arts and culture to politics and cosmology—by a distinguished archaeologist with decades of expertiseThe Viking Age—from 750 to 1050—saw an unprecedented expansion of the Scandinavian peoples into the wider world. As traders and raiders, explorers and colonists, they ranged from eastern North America to the Asian steppe. But for centuries, the Vikings
... Read more

Also available as: eBook
Audiobook

Seasons of Glass and Iron

Stories

by Amal El-Mohtar ...

Narrated by Rachel Elizabeth Smith ...

Unabridged

6 hours 58 min

**Full of glimpses into gleaming worlds and fairy tales with teeth, Seasons of Glass and Iron: Stories is a collection of acclaimed and awarded work from Amal El-Mohtar."Narrator Rachel Elizabeth Smith’s absorbing performance makes each story unforgettable.” — Kirkus Reviews**"Rachel Elizabeth Smith narrates so crisply that listeners won't miss a single word...and delivers with a straightforward ... Read more

$22.99 USD

Also available as: eBook

**Full of glimpses into gleaming worlds and fairy tales with teeth, Seasons of Glass and Iron: Stories is a collection of acclaimed and awarded work from Amal El-Mohtar."Narrator Rachel Elizabeth Smith’s absorbing performance makes each story unforgettable.” — Kirkus Reviews**"Rachel Elizabeth Smith narrates so crisply that listeners won't miss a single word...and delivers with a straightforward
... Read more

Also available as: eBook
House of Lilies

The Dynasty That Made Medieval France

by Justine Firnhaber-Baker ...

The definitive history of the Capetians, the crusading dynasty that made the French crown the wealthiest and most powerful in medieval Europe and forged France as we know it today.“A joy to read from start to finish. This is not only the best history of the Capetian dynasty now available in English, it is also one of the most entertaining popular history books published in recent years.” —Dan ... Read more

Was $15.99 USD Now $1.99 USD

Also available as: Audiobook

The definitive history of the Capetians, the crusading dynasty that made the French crown the wealthiest and most powerful in medieval Europe and forged France as we know it today.“A joy to read from start to finish. This is not only the best history of the Capetian dynasty now available in English, it is also one of the most entertaining popular history books published in recent years.” —Dan
... Read more

Also available as: Audiobook

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“virginia postrel”

The Fabric of Civilization

The Substance of Style

The Power of Glamour

The Future and Its Enemies

The Fabric of Civilization

People who read these also enjoyed

Salt

We Refuse

Witchcraft

Rome and Persia

Children of Ash and Elm

Seasons of Glass and Iron

House of Lilies

eReaders

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