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A Perfect Red - by Amy Butler Greenfield (Paperback)

A Perfect Red - by  Amy Butler Greenfield (Paperback)
Store: Target
Last Price: 12.19 USD

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<p/><br></br><p><b> About the Book </b></p></br></br>This colorful account is a richly researched, dramatic, enthralling look thatportrays the color red as a driving force in history and empire since ancienttimes. 8-page color insert.<p/><br></br><p><b> Book Synopsis </b></p></br></br><p>In the sixteenth century, one of the world's most precious commodities was cochineal, a legendary red dye treasured by the ancient Mexicans and sold in the great Aztec marketplaces, where it attracted the attention of the Spanish conquistadors. Shipped to Europe, the dye created a sensation, producing the brightest, strongest red the world had ever seen. Soon Spain's cochineal monopoly was worth a fortune. As the English, French, Dutch, and other Europeans joined the chase for cochineal -- a chase that lasted for more than three centuries -- a tale of pirates, explorers, alchemists, scientists, and spies unfolds. <em>A Perfect Red</em> evokes with style and verve this history of a grand obsession, of intrigue, empire, and adventure in pursuit of the most desirable color on earth. </p><p/><br></br><p><b> Review Quotes </b></p></br></br><br>"[An] intricate history...Greenfield paints a broad historical panorama, never neglecting the intimate, eccentric, and often absurd human details."--<em>Boston Globe</em><br><br>"Greenfield does what the best historical authors do--follows the thread of a story through history without missing a stitch."--<em>Cleveland Plain Dealer</em><br><br>"A fascinating story of greed and subterfuge, mixing fashion, folly and ingenuity in equal measure... Written with style and verve."--J. H. Elliott, University of Oxford<br><br>"A gem of accessible history."--San Diego Union-Tribune<br><br>"A marvelous book... Meticulously researched, this saga will enchant lovers of historical mysteries, fascinating characters, and world economics."--Mark Pendergrast, author of UNCOMMON GROUNDS and MIRROR MIRROR<br><br>"Delightful, rollicking history . . . A fun read, well-supported by extensive research."--Los Angeles Times Book Review<br><br>"Fascinating...Greenfield has given us a superbly researched history of cochineal red, full of angles and tangents, curiosities and arcana."--Diane Ackerman, Washington Post Book World<br><br>"With A PERFECT RED, she does for [red] what Mark Kurlansky in SALT did for that common commodity."--Houston Chronicle<br>

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