Rope : how a bundle of twisted fibers became the backbone of civilization
Edition
First edition.
Publication Information
New York : St. Martin's Press, 2025.
Physical Description
viii, 323 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations ; 22 cm
Summary
"A unique and compelling adventure through the history of rope and its impact on civilization, in the vein of single-subject bestsellers like Salt and Cod Tim Queeney is a sailor who knows more about rope and its importance to humankind than most. In Rope, Queeney takes readers on a ride through the history of rope and the way it weaves itself through the story of civilization. From Magellan's world-circling ships, to the 15th-century fleet of Admiral Zheng He, to Polynesian multihulls with crab claw sails, he shows how without rope, none of their adventurous voyages and discoveries would have been possible. Time traveling, he describes the building of the pyramids, the Roman Coliseum, Hagia Sofia, Notre Dame, the Sultan Hasan Mosque, the Brooklyn Bridge, and countless other constructions that would not have been possible without rope. Not content to just look at rope's past, Queeney looks at its present and possible future and how the re-invention of rope with synthetic fibers will likely provide the strength for cables to support elevators into space. Making the story of rope real for readers, Queeney tells remarkable nautical stories of his own reliance on rope at sea. Rope is history, adventure, and the story of one of the world's most common tools that has made it possible for humans to advance throughout the centuries"-- Provided by publisher.
Contents
- Dad's Knots
- We All Pull Together
- Stitching Boats, Raising Pyramids
- Cordage Gets to Work
- A Line to the Divine
- Getting the Message
- Controlling the Age of Sail
- Cashing In
- Food from Beneath the Waves
- Crime and Punishment
- Woven Metal
- From Petroleum to Rope
- Rope Tricks
- Roped to Adventure
- Tied up in Science
- Future Yarns.