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The Golden Thread
- How Fabric Changed History
- Narrated by: Helen Johns
- Length: 11 hrs and 26 mins
- Categories: Arts & Entertainment, Art
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Publisher's Summary
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.
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What listeners say about The Golden Thread
Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- AM Starks
- 04-24-19
The Golden Thread
Helen Johns captivated me with her yarns about the history of fabric from woolen Viking sails to attempts to weave spider silk. The stories of St. Clair’s book keep the reader engaged while revealing historical fact. I can’t think of a better way to learn about the importance of textiles to world history. Enjoy!
3 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Thomas B.
- 06-05-19
It is exactly it's title. Killer history of fabric
it was great. a bit dry, but I really loved it overall. definitely true to the title favorite mispronunciation brand Nike pronounced like the name Mike. took me a second to realize what they were even talking about
2 people found this helpful
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Mauricio
- 06-13-20
how to ruin a good book with an aweful narration
This book is really good, another excellent work by Kassia St Claire but this audible version has been ruined by and aweful narration. I would like to get back time and not to buy it.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Morag Potter
- 02-04-19
Wonderful!
Fantastic journey through the history of fabrics through thousands of years. Such amazing detail and information, I will be referring back to it numerous times in the future no doubt.
3 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- D. V. Cole
- 06-25-19
In depth history of Textiles
A very full coverage of all aspects of textiles, including their sources and usage. Most interesting and inspiring. Some facts seem to be added a touch glibly, but overall there’s no reason to doubt the authenticity of the information. The voice of the narrator sounds to me as if it were on the point of breaking up all the time, which I found irritating at first, but managed to ignore after a while.
2 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
- Ms J.
- 01-13-19
A fascinating history
This is a wide ranging history of textiles and threads travelling from Egypt to China, Yorkshire to the cotton plantations of the southern USA, Antarctica to Everest, Outer space to Olympic swimming pools and much more. It is also the secret history of women and their unsung roles in the economics of empires. It is really very good.
2 people found this helpful
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Overall1 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story1 out of 5 stars
- Laura
- 09-04-19
Awful narration
The narrator’s voice is extremely grating -the quavering mess of a unconfident old woman with a bad cold. Moreover she frequently mispronounces words and names, speaking with a huge linguistic insensitivity especially towards Chinese names and places. The text is slow and dull - though could’ve been saved by a voice with power and confidence.
3 people found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- sarah
- 01-01-19
Interesting subject but...
An interesting subject that has been well researched but I couldn’t get on with the narrators voice.
1 person found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Ms. L. J. Pantrey
- 11-25-20
Interesting but slow
Really enjoyable, and gave me a good few bullets to slapdown naysayers, but a bit of a slog. Worth sticking with it.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Emily
- 10-18-20
really informative and engaging
what a great book. learned so much, taking on subjects that I had no idea about such as spider silk and some places where I had more knowledge such as lace gave me more depth to me knowledge.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
- Kindle Customer
- 07-11-19
Brilliant!
I haven't listened to such a riveting read in a long while. Engaging, well informed and erudite, it kept me listening from start to finish. Well worth it.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Lisa Solomon
- 06-06-19
Well written and engaging
Fabric explained using historical context - if you enjoy historical non-fiction, I would highly recommend this book. With sections broken down into different materials (cotton, linen etc), the author takes us through a timeline starting in the neolithic and ending in the future of fabric.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Kindle Customer
- 04-06-20
enchanting
loved it. Well written, if not a little passive aggressive haha. incredibly well researched and full of whimsy.