Silk: A World History
A Next Big Idea Book Club Must-Read for April
"Aarathi Prasad spins a masterpiece of a story, as luminous, supple, and surprising as the wondrous threads themselves." --Sy Montgomery, bestselling author of The Soul of an Octopus and Of Time and Turtles
Throughout history, across cultures and countries, silk has reigned as the undeniable queen of fabrics, yet its origins and evolution remain a mystery. In a gorgeous and sweeping narrative, Silk weaves together its intricate story and the indelible mark it has left on humanity.
Some four thousand years ago, the cultivation of silkworms began, the practice spreading to the far reaches of civilization. With it came a growing obsession with unlocking silk's secrets to understand how the strongest biological material ever known could be harnessed.
Explorers and scientists, including groundbreaking women who pushed the boundaries of societal expectations, dedicated--even sacrificed--their lives to investigate the anatomy of silk-producing animals. They endured unbelievable hardships to discover and collect new specimens, leading them to the moths of China, Indonesia, and India; the spiders of Argentina, Paraguay, and Madagascar; and the mollusks of the Mediterranean.
Rich with the complex connections between human and nonhuman worlds, Silk not only peers into the past but also reveals the fiber's impact today, inspiring new technologies across the fashion, military, and medical fields, and shows its untapped potential to pioneer a more sustainable future.
The culmination of author and biologist Aarathi Prasad's own lifelong passion and grounded in years of research and writing, Silk is an intoxicating read that provides an essential illumination of nature's most glamourous thread.
Book Details
- Publisher: William Morrow & Company
- Publish Date: Apr 30th, 2024
- Pages: 304
- Language: English
- Dimensions: 9.10in - 6.10in - 1.30in - 1.05lb
- EAN: 9780063160255
- Categories: • History• Social History• Life Sciences - Zoology - Invertebrates
About the Author
Aarathi Prasad is a writer, broadcaster, and researcher. Born in London to an Indian mother who wore only silk saris and a Caribbean father who loved the natural world, Aarathi was educated in the West Indies and the UK. After completing a PhD in molecular genetics from Imperial College London, she later trained in bioarchaeology. She is an Honorary Research Fellow at University College London's Department of Genetics, Evolution and Environment, and part of an international team excavating and analyzing ancient DNA from funerary sites in Spain, Rome, and Pompeii. She is the author of two books published in the UK, In the Bonesetter's Waiting Room: Travels Through Indian Medicine and Like a Virgin: How Science Is Redesigning the Rules of Sex.
Praise for this book
"Both scientific and poetic, this remarkable book shows how the great tides of history are shaped through human encounters with the intricate variety of the non-human world." -- David Wengrow, co-author of the international bestseller The Dawn of Everything
"Who would have thought that a book about silkworms and spiders could be so fascinating? Aarathi Prasad criss-crosses centuries and cultures to tell of the intrepid explorers, botanists, scientists, and entrepreneurs who were determined to unravel the secrets of silk production. Her book captures their persistence and her own in the search for the little-told but revelatory stories of human curiosity and ingenuity." -- Clare Hunter, author of Threads of Life
"Aarathi Prasad has woven a wonder of a narrative. Like the transformation of caterpillar to moth that she explores so beautifully, this is a network of threads that spin around the world and tell a story of science, of history, of humanity itself." -- Kate Strasdin, author of The Dress Diary of Mrs. Anne Sykes
"An incredible read. Deeply researched, dazzling. Prasad weaves a magical thread through history, culture, science and nature, unfolding the long and deep relationship we have with the natural history of silk and the creatures that make it." -- Seirian Sumner, author of Endless Forms
"Prasad weaves her strands of science, history, and culture to create a rich narrative tapestry that's as sumptuous as the material itself. Full of fascinating detail." -- Gaia Vince, author of Nomad Century