A review by ngilbert
Silk: A World History by Aarathi Prasad

informative medium-paced

4.5

Silk: A World History is a high-quality entry into the micro-history genre. Befitting its subtitle, it is a truly global history of silk, from silkworms, from spiders, and even from the Pinna Nobilis fan mussel. An aspect that I appreciated was the way that the author wove in various familiar stories, and explained how silk tied into them; the gunfight at the OK Corral, the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, telling the story of the material through telling the story of people. I appreciated the forward-looking section of potential future uses of silk, although many of them I would assume are farther off than may be clear in the text.

My thanks to William Morrow and NetGalley for providing an advanced reader copy.