Silk

There is not just one story of silk. In silk is science, history and mythology. In silk is the future.
Aarathi Prasad’s Silk is a gorgeous new history weaving together the story of a unique material that has fascinated the world for millennia.

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‘A tour of the anecdotal, the industrial and the gruesome . . . Readers coming to this globetrotting and species-leaping volume expecting vignette after genteel vignette of 5,000-odd years of Chinese silk manufacture are in for a nasty shock. Here be spiders, and not just spiders, but metre-long Mediterranean clams, and countless moth species spinning their silks everywhere from Singapore to Suriname’ Financial Times
‘The global scope of Prasad’s book draws out its most compelling material links’ Daily Telegraph, four-star review
‘Prasad is such an infectious and knowledgeable enthusiast that it is hard not to be swept away by her enticing facts’ Literary Review
'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
‘Fascinating . . . Prasad cross-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
'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’ 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