--- product_id: 303429266 title: "The Fabric of Civilization: How Textiles Made the World" price: "141.46 DT" currency: TND in_stock: true reviews_count: 13 url: https://www.desertcart.tn/products/303429266-the-fabric-of-civilization-how-textiles-made-the-world store_origin: TN region: Tunisia --- # The Fabric of Civilization: How Textiles Made the World **Price:** 141.46 DT **Availability:** ✅ In Stock ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** The Fabric of Civilization: How Textiles Made the World - **How much does it cost?** 141.46 DT with free shipping - **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.tn](https://www.desertcart.tn/products/303429266-the-fabric-of-civilization-how-textiles-made-the-world) ## Best For - Customers looking for quality international products ## Why This Product - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Description “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, the need for textiles has driven technology, business, politics, and culture. In The Fabric of Civilization , Virginia Postrel synthesizes groundbreaking research from archaeology, economics, and science to reveal a surprising history. From Minoans exporting wool colored with precious purple dye to Egypt, to Romans arrayed in costly Chinese silk, the cloth trade paved the crossroads of the ancient world. Textiles funded the Renaissance and the Mughal Empire; they gave us banks and bookkeeping, Michelangelo's David and the Taj Mahal. The cloth business spread the alphabet and arithmetic, propelled chemical research, and taught people to think in binary code. Assiduously researched and deftly narrated, The Fabric of Civilization tells the story of the world's most influential commodity. Review: Engaging and thorough - Very engaging, thoroughly rrsearched, well organized, well written! Review: Postrel is our Ariadne, using thread to guide us through history - Remember the Greek legend of Theseus and the Minotaur? King Minos of Crete has compelled Athens to supply a regular stream of sacrificial victims to a Minotaur living in a labyrinth. Athenian hero Theseus decides to put a halt to the slaughter. He volunteers as a sacrifice, smuggles a sword into the maze, and chops off the monster’s head. Still, Theseus would never have escaped the labyrinth without the aid of his (doomed) lover Ariadne, who supplies him a ball of string with which he marks his path into the maze — which becomes his path out of the maze, as well, together with the Athenians he came to rescue. Not all heroes wield blades. And many problems cannot be solved simply by hacking away at them. Their causes are complex and interconnected. They twist and turn. They are fabrics that must be unraveled, patiently and prudently, to be understood. Often, solutions come from following seemingly small threads in unexpected directions, and weaving them into something new. In her masterful new book “The Fabric of Civilization: How Textiles Made the World,” Virginia Postrel serves as her readers’ Ariadne — guiding them through millennia of human experience to discover fresh and illuminating insights about how cultures and economies form, how innovation occurs, and how elites and interest groups often try to inhibit that innovation in order to preserve their power and position. As Postrel points out, our thinking about social and technological change is warped by the materials that happen to survive to be studied. Scholars name historical ages after rocks and metals. Archaeologists sift through mounds of pottery shards. Textiles, which make so much of civilization possible, largely disintegrate and fade from view. In “The Fabric of Civilization,” Postrel makes the unseen visible again. “What we usually call the Stone Age could just as easily be called the String Age,” she points out. “The two prehistoric technologies were literally intertwined.” Speaking of being warped, that word was itself derived from making textiles. Imagine a weaver’s loom. The warp is the yarn stretched lengthwise across it. The weft is the yarn woven over and under the warp to create the fabric. In the process, the warp is pulled and bent, which is how the word took on a new meaning. Postrel works the metaphor throughout “The Fabric of Civilization.” Stretched across her writer’s loom are fascinating chapter yarns about the origins of fiber, the spinning of thread, the weaving and dying of cloth, and the rise of traders, consumers, and innovators whose talents and choices helped create our modern world. I found the chapter on dyes especially revealing. In our clothes, tools, and furnishings, we’ve always cared about more than just functionality. We relish texture and color. We use them to express ideas or signal status. “Dyes bear witness to the universal human quest to imbue artifacts with beauty and meaning — and to the chemical ingenuity and economic enterprise that desire calls forth,” she writes, adding that to a surprisingly large extent “the history of dyes is the history of chemistry.” The connection between the textile trade and scientific progress is one of the intellectual wefts readers will discover woven throughout the chapters of the book. Another is abuse of power. Whether it is the use of slaves or other exploited workers to produce fiber on a massive scale, the use of government regulation to suppress imported fabrics, or the use of violence to destroy labor-saving machines, the story of textiles features a plot full of villainous characters. But it also features many heroes, following more Ariadne’s pattern than that of Theseus. Postrel’s book chronicles “the achievements of inventors, artists, and laborers, the longings of scientists and consumers, the initiative of explorers and entrepreneurs.” These heroes came in every color, espousing every creed, from every corner of the earth. They pursued their own ends. Although there was no concerted design, a pattern emerged. It was the very fabric of civilization itself, “a tapestry woven from countless brilliant threads.” ## Technical Specifications | Specification | Value | |---------------|-------| | Best Sellers Rank | #15,077 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #1 in Polymers & Textiles #3 in Fashion & Textile Business #18 in History of Engineering & Technology | | Customer Reviews | 4.7 out of 5 stars 1,022 Reviews | ## Images ![The Fabric of Civilization: How Textiles Made the World - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/91J6ArYCwmL.jpg) ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Engaging and thorough *by S***S on June 7, 2026* Very engaging, thoroughly rrsearched, well organized, well written! ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Postrel is our Ariadne, using thread to guide us through history *by J***D on July 8, 2021* Remember the Greek legend of Theseus and the Minotaur? King Minos of Crete has compelled Athens to supply a regular stream of sacrificial victims to a Minotaur living in a labyrinth. Athenian hero Theseus decides to put a halt to the slaughter. He volunteers as a sacrifice, smuggles a sword into the maze, and chops off the monster’s head. Still, Theseus would never have escaped the labyrinth without the aid of his (doomed) lover Ariadne, who supplies him a ball of string with which he marks his path into the maze — which becomes his path out of the maze, as well, together with the Athenians he came to rescue. Not all heroes wield blades. And many problems cannot be solved simply by hacking away at them. Their causes are complex and interconnected. They twist and turn. They are fabrics that must be unraveled, patiently and prudently, to be understood. Often, solutions come from following seemingly small threads in unexpected directions, and weaving them into something new. In her masterful new book “The Fabric of Civilization: How Textiles Made the World,” Virginia Postrel serves as her readers’ Ariadne — guiding them through millennia of human experience to discover fresh and illuminating insights about how cultures and economies form, how innovation occurs, and how elites and interest groups often try to inhibit that innovation in order to preserve their power and position. As Postrel points out, our thinking about social and technological change is warped by the materials that happen to survive to be studied. Scholars name historical ages after rocks and metals. Archaeologists sift through mounds of pottery shards. Textiles, which make so much of civilization possible, largely disintegrate and fade from view. In “The Fabric of Civilization,” Postrel makes the unseen visible again. “What we usually call the Stone Age could just as easily be called the String Age,” she points out. “The two prehistoric technologies were literally intertwined.” Speaking of being warped, that word was itself derived from making textiles. Imagine a weaver’s loom. The warp is the yarn stretched lengthwise across it. The weft is the yarn woven over and under the warp to create the fabric. In the process, the warp is pulled and bent, which is how the word took on a new meaning. Postrel works the metaphor throughout “The Fabric of Civilization.” Stretched across her writer’s loom are fascinating chapter yarns about the origins of fiber, the spinning of thread, the weaving and dying of cloth, and the rise of traders, consumers, and innovators whose talents and choices helped create our modern world. I found the chapter on dyes especially revealing. In our clothes, tools, and furnishings, we’ve always cared about more than just functionality. We relish texture and color. We use them to express ideas or signal status. “Dyes bear witness to the universal human quest to imbue artifacts with beauty and meaning — and to the chemical ingenuity and economic enterprise that desire calls forth,” she writes, adding that to a surprisingly large extent “the history of dyes is the history of chemistry.” The connection between the textile trade and scientific progress is one of the intellectual wefts readers will discover woven throughout the chapters of the book. Another is abuse of power. Whether it is the use of slaves or other exploited workers to produce fiber on a massive scale, the use of government regulation to suppress imported fabrics, or the use of violence to destroy labor-saving machines, the story of textiles features a plot full of villainous characters. But it also features many heroes, following more Ariadne’s pattern than that of Theseus. Postrel’s book chronicles “the achievements of inventors, artists, and laborers, the longings of scientists and consumers, the initiative of explorers and entrepreneurs.” These heroes came in every color, espousing every creed, from every corner of the earth. They pursued their own ends. Although there was no concerted design, a pattern emerged. It was the very fabric of civilization itself, “a tapestry woven from countless brilliant threads.” ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Best nonfiction I've read in years *by K***R on February 1, 2026* I, like many other reviewers, heard about this book from Hank Green, but I'm embarrassed I didn't know about it beforehand as a lifelong textile artist. If you have even a passing interest in anything sewing, yarn or needlework, this is your book. I recommended it to other people in my life, which I rarely do. The writing is exceptionally easy to read, flows easily from one topic and antidote to another, and distills a lot of technical information down to understandable points. While i knew about a lot of the things mentioned in this book, my own understanding was increased and it felt like I was going on an adventurous educational, textile tour of the world. However, the real brilliance of this work is the historical and social underpinnings of all human activity to get to where we are - unappreciative yet totally dependent on a technology most people couldn't interact with on the most basic level. (Most people can't sew on a button.) This kind of awareness can only be helpful, if for no other reason than the conversation it sparks. ## Frequently Bought Together - The Fabric of Civilization: How Textiles Made the World - The Golden Thread: How Fabric Changed History - Women's Work: The First 20,000 Years --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.tn/products/303429266-the-fabric-of-civilization-how-textiles-made-the-world](https://www.desertcart.tn/products/303429266-the-fabric-of-civilization-how-textiles-made-the-world) --- *Product available on Desertcart Tunisia* *Store origin: TN* *Last updated: 2026-08-07*