A Perfect Red

Empire, Espionage, and the Quest for the Color of Desire

By: Amy Butler Greenfield

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Paperback | 15 January 2020

At a Glance

Paperback
352 Pages

Dimensions(cm)
20.32 x 13.34 x 2.24

Paperback

$26.39

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"You'll finish Greenfield's] book with new respect for color, especially for red. With A Perfect Red, she does for it what Mark Kurlansky in Salt did for that common commodity."--Houston Chronicle

Interweaving mystery, empire, and adventure, Amy Butler Greenfield's masterful popular history offers a window onto a world far different from our own: a world in which the color red was rare and precious--a source of wealth and power for those who could unlock its secrets. And in this world nothing was more prized than cochineal, a red dye that produced the brightest, strongest red the Old World had ever seen.

A Perfect Red recounts the story of this legendary red dye, from its cultivation by the ancient Mexicans and discovery by 16th-century Spanish conquistadors to the European pirates, explorers, alchemists, scientists, and spies who joined in the chase to unlock its secrets, a chase that lasted more than three centuries. It 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.

Industry Reviews

"Delightful, rollicking history . . . A fun read, well-supported by extensive research." -- Los Angeles Times Book Review

"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

"With A PERFECT RED, she does for [red] what Mark Kurlansky in SALT did for that common commodity." -- Houston Chronicle

"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

"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

"A gem of accessible history." -- San Diego Union-Tribune

"[An] intricate history...Greenfield paints a broad historical panorama, never neglecting the intimate, eccentric, and often absurd human details." -- Boston Globe

"Greenfield does what the best historical authors do--follows the thread of a story through history without missing a stitch." -- Cleveland Plain Dealer

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