Fabric of Civilization

Fascinating History. Postrel does a remarkable job of looking at the various people and technologies of making (primarily clothing) textiles throughout history and even into the future. She largely centers around the various types of entities involved in the work, from the source materials to the weavers to the sellers and a few other types, and shows how each contributed in some way to the overall history and to where we are now. Several tidbits I didn't know, including just how much cotton yarn is in an average pair of jeans, and a few that sound plausible, but which I'd need to research a bit more (such as claims about textiles being an early form of computing). At least one passage in particular actually brought to mind the James McAvoy / Angelina Jolie / Morgan Freeman movie Wanted, where looms and weaving play a central part in the mythos. Very much recommended.

This is such a superb read. How cotton was introduced in the world to different materials used in the textile industry and how the development and creating hybrids and different techniques used from history to geography and scientific aspects are covered about the humankind and how they evolved with this industry. I really loved the concept of math used for patterns explained and how the banking system was introduced, the innovations in textile, how a project that gave other results helped in the dying industry and how colonization and everything are interlinked.

This is a book on how human civilization and the clothing industry developed together and how the innovation made changes and improved the way of understanding and quality of the clothing.

The narration was so good. The author has researched a lot and made a great effort to make this book on fabrics and civilizations. Each chapter was on each thing related to the clothing industry from fabrics, dying, innovation, ...

I got a lot of information about the clothing industry and many more things.

There's just something wonderful about a non-fiction book where the writer is passionate about the subject matter, wants to make sure everybody understands just how awesome it is, and can write in an engaging manner. 
Every chapter in this book could spawn several books of its own. 
This is a relatively short work (250 pages plus glossary and notes) so you do get a sense of speed-running through the history of human civilization, plucking out times and places as they relate to the topic under discussion. 
And yet so much is crammed in! 
Chapter structure discusses the history of various elements of fabric production (as well as trading and consumption) and alongside it, the leaps and bounds made for human civilization by the manufacturing techniques, technology and social infrastructure such material production inspired. 
I was as fascinated by the future of fabric, the windows into where design and manufacturing may go next, as I was by the details of its past I previously had no clue about. 
As much engineering and invention, as much science, as history (not all of it pretty, of course). 
I always love hearing about those moments where  the sharing of knowledge (maybe previously hoarded or rediscovered or developed and open source) / knowledge transmission (part of a long tradition that miraculously survived to present day) is crucial for the future of crafts and technology. 
We need that message out there. 

Cons?
I'm biased to plant-based fibres, I can't get too ecstatic about petroleum-based polymers and microfibers given our current understanding of the environmental costs. 
Bit of a crime that all the photos and image reproductions are black and white. 
Disgusting details of reconstructing the manufacturing process of the original Tyrian purple. Poor murex! 
⚠️animal death, slavery, suicide