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Women's Work
- The First 20,000 Years: Women, Cloth, and Society in Early Times
- Narrated by: Donna Postel
- Length: 8 hrs and 57 mins
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The Greeks
- A Global History
- Written by: Roderick Beaton
- Narrated by: Anna Crowe
- Length: 16 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
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More than 2,000 years ago, the Greek city-states, led by Athens and Sparta, laid the foundation for much of modern science, the arts, politics, and law. But the influence of the Greeks did not end with the rise and fall of this classical civilization. As historian Roderick Beaton illustrates, over three millennia Greek speakers produced a series of civilizations that were rooted in southeastern Europe but again and again ranged widely across the globe.
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A good overview
- By Amazon Customer on 2023-02-25
Written by: Roderick Beaton
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Ithaca
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- Narrated by: Catrin Walker-Booth
- Length: 12 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
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Seventeen years ago, King Odysseus sailed to war with Troy, taking with him every man of fighting age from the island of Ithaca. None of them has returned, and the women of Ithaca have been left behind to run the kingdom. Penelope was barely into womanhood when she wed Odysseus. Now, speculation is mounting that her husband is dead, and suitors are beginning to knock at her door. No man is strong enough to claim Odysseus' empty throne—not yet. But everyone waits for the balance of power to tip, and Penelope knows that any choice she makes could plunge Ithaca into bloody civil war.
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Looking forward to the next installment
- By Linda in Nepean, Canada on 2023-03-02
Written by: Claire North
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The Fabric of Civilization
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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.
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Fantastic!!!
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The Golden Thread
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- Narrated by: Helen Johns
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From the mummies of Ancient Egypt, via the silken dragon robes of Imperial China and the woollen sails of Viking longboats to the Indian calicoes and chintzes that powered the Industrial Revolution (and sparked more than one war), arriving finally at the lab-blended fibres that have allowed astronauts to moonwalk - fabrics, man-made and natural, have changed and shaped the world we live in. In 12 fascinating chapters, Kassia St Clair lays out an alternative history of civilisation and human creativity. Wittily written and compellingly argued, this book will change the way you see the world.
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An excellent, highly listenable book
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From the development of international trade fairs in the 12th century to the innovations made in China, India, and the Arab world, it turns out that historical economies were much more sophisticated that we might imagine, tied together by webs of credit and financial instruments much like our modern economy.
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Philip Coggan is the Yuval NoahHarari of economics
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Written by: Philip Coggan
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Fashionopolis
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In Fashionopolis, Thomas sees renewal in a host of developments, including printing 3-D clothes, clean denim processing, smart manufacturing, hyperlocalism, fabric recycling - even lab-grown materials. From small-town makers and Silicon Valley whizzes to such household names as Stella McCartney, Levi’s, and Rent the Runway, Thomas highlights the companies big and small that are leading the crusade.
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Fascinating!
- By Anonymous User on 2021-04-27
Written by: Dana Thomas
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The Greeks
- A Global History
- Written by: Roderick Beaton
- Narrated by: Anna Crowe
- Length: 16 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
More than 2,000 years ago, the Greek city-states, led by Athens and Sparta, laid the foundation for much of modern science, the arts, politics, and law. But the influence of the Greeks did not end with the rise and fall of this classical civilization. As historian Roderick Beaton illustrates, over three millennia Greek speakers produced a series of civilizations that were rooted in southeastern Europe but again and again ranged widely across the globe.
-
-
A good overview
- By Amazon Customer on 2023-02-25
Written by: Roderick Beaton
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Ithaca
- Written by: Claire North
- Narrated by: Catrin Walker-Booth
- Length: 12 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Seventeen years ago, King Odysseus sailed to war with Troy, taking with him every man of fighting age from the island of Ithaca. None of them has returned, and the women of Ithaca have been left behind to run the kingdom. Penelope was barely into womanhood when she wed Odysseus. Now, speculation is mounting that her husband is dead, and suitors are beginning to knock at her door. No man is strong enough to claim Odysseus' empty throne—not yet. But everyone waits for the balance of power to tip, and Penelope knows that any choice she makes could plunge Ithaca into bloody civil war.
-
-
Looking forward to the next installment
- By Linda in Nepean, Canada on 2023-03-02
Written by: Claire North
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The Fabric of Civilization
- How Textiles Made the World
- Written by: Virginia I. Postrel
- Narrated by: Caroline Cole
- Length: 9 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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.
-
-
Fantastic!!!
- By jason petrone on 2023-05-25
Written by: Virginia I. Postrel
-
The Golden Thread
- How Fabric Changed History
- Written by: Kassia St Clair
- Narrated by: Helen Johns
- Length: 11 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From the mummies of Ancient Egypt, via the silken dragon robes of Imperial China and the woollen sails of Viking longboats to the Indian calicoes and chintzes that powered the Industrial Revolution (and sparked more than one war), arriving finally at the lab-blended fibres that have allowed astronauts to moonwalk - fabrics, man-made and natural, have changed and shaped the world we live in. In 12 fascinating chapters, Kassia St Clair lays out an alternative history of civilisation and human creativity. Wittily written and compellingly argued, this book will change the way you see the world.
-
-
An excellent, highly listenable book
- By Noah L. on 2019-05-13
Written by: Kassia St Clair
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More
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- Written by: Philip Coggan
- Narrated by: Philip Coggan, Kris Dyer
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- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From the development of international trade fairs in the 12th century to the innovations made in China, India, and the Arab world, it turns out that historical economies were much more sophisticated that we might imagine, tied together by webs of credit and financial instruments much like our modern economy.
-
-
Philip Coggan is the Yuval NoahHarari of economics
- By Ame Lee on 2021-01-08
Written by: Philip Coggan
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Fashionopolis
- The Price of Fast Fashion and the Future of Clothes
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- Narrated by: Dana Thomas
- Length: 9 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
In Fashionopolis, Thomas sees renewal in a host of developments, including printing 3-D clothes, clean denim processing, smart manufacturing, hyperlocalism, fabric recycling - even lab-grown materials. From small-town makers and Silicon Valley whizzes to such household names as Stella McCartney, Levi’s, and Rent the Runway, Thomas highlights the companies big and small that are leading the crusade.
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Fascinating!
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Written by: Dana Thomas
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The Enchanted Collection
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This is a collection meant to be cherished for a lifetime. Whether encountering these cherished tales for the first or the 50th time, listeners will find enchantment in this collection.
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Wonderful!
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Joining the ranks of popular science classics like The Botany of Desire and The Selfish Gene, a groundbreaking, wondrously informative, and vastly entertaining examination of the most significant revolution in biology since Darwin - a "microbe's-eye view" of the world that reveals a marvelous, radically reconceived picture of life on Earth.
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Interesting and Insightful
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The Far Land
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In 1808, an American merchant ship happened upon an uncharted island in the South Pacific and unwittingly solved the biggest nautical mystery of the era: the whereabouts of a band of fugitives who, after seizing their vessel, had disappeared into the night with their Tahitian companions. Pitcairn Island was the perfect hideaway from British authorities, but after nearly two decades of isolation, its secret society had devolved into a tribalistic hellscape; a real-life Lord of the Flies, rife with depravity and deception.
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Great retrospective, context and first person experience
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The Lonely Life details the first 50-plus years of Davis' life - her Yankee childhood, her rise to stardom in Hollywood, the birth of her beloved children, and the uncompromising choices she made along the way to succeed. The book was updated with new material in the 1980s, bringing the story up to the end of Davis' life - all the heartbreak, all the drama, and all the love she experienced at every stage of her extraordinary life.
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An excellent listen
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We Had a Little Real Estate Problem
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It was one of the most reliable jokes in Charlie Hill’s stand-up routine: “My people are from Wisconsin. We used to be from New York. We had a little real estate problem.” In We Had a Little Real Estate Problem, acclaimed comedy historian Kliph Nesteroff focuses on one of comedy’s most significant and little-known stories: how, despite having been denied representation in the entertainment industry, Native Americans have influenced and advanced the art form.
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In 1966 in a small town in Louisiana, a 19-year-old Black man named Gary Duncan pulled his car off the road to stop a fight. Duncan was arrested a few minutes later for the crime of putting his hand on the arm of a White child. Rather than accepting his fate, Duncan found Richard Sobol, a brilliant, 29-year-old lawyer from New York who was the only White attorney at "the most radical law firm" in New Orleans. Against them stood one of the most powerful white supremacists in the South, a man called simply "The Judge".
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Supported by meticulous research and told in a lively, accessible voice, Ten Tomatoes That Changed the World seamlessly weaves travel, history, humor, and a little adventure (and misadventure) to follow the tomato's trail through history. A fascinating story complete with heroes, con artists, conquistadors, and—no surprise—the Mafia, this book is a mouth-watering, informative, and entertaining guide to the food that has captured our hearts for generations.
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A story about botany, genetics, business and pizza
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Women in Clothes
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Performance
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Story
A book unlike any other, Women in Clothes is essentially a conversation among hundreds of women of all nationalities - famous, anonymous, religious, secular, married, single, young, old - on the subject of clothing, and how the garments we put on every day define and shape our lives. It began with a survey. The editors composed a list of more than 50 questions designed to prompt women to think more deeply about their personal style.
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Fascinating, Unique
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Women in White Coats
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Performance
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In the early 1900s, women were dying in large numbers from treatable diseases because they avoided receiving medical care. Examinations performed by male doctors were often demeaning and even painful. In addition, women faced stigma from illness—a diagnosis could greatly limit their ability to find husbands, jobs or be received in polite society. Motivated by personal loss and frustration over inadequate medical care, Elizabeth Blackwell, Lizzie Garret Anderson and Sophie Jex-Blake fought for a woman's place in the male-dominated medical field.
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very informative
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The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs
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Not bad
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Written by: Steve Brusatte
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The Library
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- Unabridged
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Famed across the known world, jealously guarded by private collectors, built up over centuries, destroyed in a single day, ornamented with gold leaf and frescoes, or filled with bean bags and children’s drawings - the history of the library is rich, varied, and stuffed full of incident.
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Great Overview
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Written by: Andrew Pettegree, and others
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A Short History of Russia
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- Unabridged
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Russia is a country with no natural borders, no single ethnic group, no true central identity. At the crossroads of Europe and Asia, it has been subject to invasion by outsiders, from Vikings to Mongols, from Napoleon’s French to Hitler’s Germans. In order to forge an identity, it has mythologized its past to unite its people and to signal strength to outsiders. In A Short History of Russia, Mark Galeotti explores the history of this fascinating, glorious, desperate, and exasperating country.
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Encompassing yet succinct
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Written by: Mark Galeotti
Publisher's Summary
New discoveries about the textile arts reveal women's unexpectedly influential role in ancient societies.
Twenty thousand years ago, women were making and wearing the first clothing created from spun fibers. In fact, right up to the Industrial Revolution the fiber arts were an enormous economic force, belonging primarily to women.
Despite the great toil required in making cloth and clothing, most books on ancient history and economics have no information on them. Much of this gap results from the extreme perishability of what women produced, but it seems clear that until now descriptions of prehistoric and early historic cultures have omitted virtually half the picture.
Elizabeth Wayland Barber has drawn from data gathered by the most sophisticated newer archaeological methods - methods she herself helped to fashion. In a "brilliantly original book" (Katha Pollitt, Washington Post Book World), she argues that women were a powerful economic force in the ancient world, with their own industry: fabric.
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What listeners say about Women's Work
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Bard Groupie
- 2019-07-17
Oh the twisted thread of history...
As a fiber artist, I found this both inspirational and informative. I am amazed at the information gathered and how yet I am thankful for it. I have always been more interested in traditional fiber arts then more modern influences and often had a lot to ponder. Some of my questions have been answered only to be replaced by a mountain of new ones and I hope that this book inspires more scientific minds to search for more of the truth that has been discarded in the past. Oh to think of how much has been discarded just puts pangs in my heart, we will perhaps never know. I can't help but wonder if the treasures of 'Must Farm' archeology site are a lot of luck or there are still plenty to find if we would just open our eyes to it. Actually trying to recreate instead of just documenting sounds so important in researching these arts and I am thankful someone is taking the time to do so.
I read this quickly and will read it again. I suspect it is like one of those movies that you discover so much more the second time because there is just so much important information to take in in one sitting.
2 people found this helpful
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- Tataypoghi
- 2023-04-09
Amazing!
Really appreciated the blend of explanation of folklore and textile and labour work in this history book
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- fiberflair
- 2021-02-23
Respectful treatment of the archeological record.
Dedication to rigorous innovative archeological technique rather than innovative speculation makes this compelling. Well Done!
7 people found this helpful
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- Sarah
- 2021-01-09
Amazing collection of info
I am a fiber nerd. I have crocheted since I was 5, more than 50 years now. Over the years I have picked up many fiber related skill. Spinning is my most cherished. This book affirmed my passion in many ways. Well researched and delivered. I will listen many times. Fiber nerds, I can not recommend this more highly! Yes, you NEED this book😁
6 people found this helpful
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- A.B. Normal
- 2020-07-24
If you want to know what women were doing…
while old white men were out creating the world and stealing history, this is (one of) your book(s). Well written, well paced interesting, informative. Nicely done. Makes clear the importance of women’s contribution to the advancement of civilization, even during times when they were enslaved by their spouses and never permitted to leave the house.
5 people found this helpful
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- Ginny Ellsworth
- 2020-05-25
Simply Wonderful.
I have this book in print as well. Fascinating history of women and their relationship to textiles.
3 people found this helpful
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- jackie d
- 2020-01-24
Thoughtful and engaging.
Great read for anyone interested in textiles or the role of women in earliest civilizations. Excellent narrator!
2 people found this helpful
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- Utilisateur anonyme
- 2022-06-30
Informed, when the author stayed on topic.
This was well informed when the author stuck with their specific historical expertise on textiles. Unfortunately, their understanding of world history was under-informed, antiquated and stereotypical. I had to stop. It was too painful to hear historical error after historical error.
1 person found this helpful
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- Lacy Phillips
- 2021-10-01
Fascinating But Disorganized
Combines thorough research with some engaging autobiographical storytelling, but it seemed to skip around a lot. The organization appeared to not be based on strict chronology or be a discussion of any one technology/method after another. I'm not sure what the overarching organizational scheme was, but the reading experience suffered because it didn't take a more comprehensible approach.
1 person found this helpful
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- Victoria Levy
- 2022-11-30
Highly recommend great history lesson
Interesting material with a defined storyline easy to follow. Narration was excellent. Fabric history at its finest.
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- Kindle Customer
- 2021-03-28
I love it
I absolutely love this book. The author does a wonderful job of explaining her topic and making it real and the reader is excellent!
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- Chantelle Wood
- 2020-12-07
Wonderful information, fresh, informative,
A great building block for history and a fresh take on processing information via a holistic approach.