PositiveNew York Times Book ReviewPostrel specializes in sharp, informed commentary on broad subjects. So it’s a surprise to find very little opinion in The Fabric of Civilization. Instead, the book is, as she puts it, an \'exploration originated in wonder\'. She isn’t kidding. We are taken on a journey as epic, and varying, as the Silk Road itself ... At times, Postrel loses her way — and, in turn, us. She explains the mechanics of cloth construction like a scientist, and includes diagrams, in case we don’t get it. (I still don’t understand how Jacquard’s punch cards work, even with the drawings.) She quotes wonky experts or, vaguely, \'a historian\' on basic information, when she could have told us herself, less dryly. Thankfully, she does drop in witty bits on occasion to unpick the jargon...Such asides help lighten seriously unleavened sections of the book ... Postrel soars — and there are set-piece gems, to be sure — when she turns away from academia, and employs her well-honed reporter’s skills ... A truly personal take could pull more readers in and turn The Fabric of Civilization from an exercise in imparting information into something more intimate. Postrel talks about how the textile business is forever migrating, but she doesn’t look at how such migration, post-NAFTA, impacted her hometown or the surrounding region ... not a definitive work on the subject...more 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.
