A Perfect Red
Empire, Espionage, and the Quest for the Color of Desire
HarperCollins · Print & ebook · April 25, 2006
“You’ll finish [Greenfield’s] book with new respect for color, especially for red.
We earn from qualifying purchases.
- Who it’s for
- A history with intrigue, appetite, and the odd power of red.
- Genres
- World History, Art History, Social History
- Published
- HarperCollins, April 25, 2006
Nearest books
Matched by what the books are about, then ordered by what their readers also loved.
WornSofi Thanhauser, Rebecca Lowman46% matchShares Social History
TulipomaniaMike Dash50% match
A Woman of No ImportanceSonia Purnell47% match
Dinner With King TutSam Kean, Derek Shetterly48% match
The Lost City of ZDavid Grann48% match
The Tainted CupRobert Jackson Bennett46% match
Lost OrchidSarah Bilston55% match
The Red WinterCameron Sullivan55% match
For younger readers: Sugar Changed the World, 1493 for Young People, Red Queen
Start with three books, and this one can be the first.
Members get a new edition every morning: a route out from their books to essays, research and talks, with the reason for each.
Start with this bookAbout this book
“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.
Continue reading
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.
Why This Clicks
A history with intrigue, appetite, and the odd power of red.
Come here for
- Empire, espionage, and a surprisingly charged color story
- History that moves with a true-crimeish snap
Expect
- Cultural history with a lively, curious pulse
- A sustained read that explains as it goes
Where it sits
| Social History | 42% |
|---|---|
| Art History | 40% |
| World History | 39% |
Percentages are BookFrontier’s reading of the book.
Publisher categories
- Art
- Drawing Techniques
- Art History
- European Art
Show all 8 publisher categories
- Painting Techniques
- Pencil Drawing
- Color Photography
- Women Artists
- Authors
- Amy Butler Greenfield
- Publisher
- HarperCollins
- Published
- April 25, 2006
- Format
- Print & ebook
- Reading lane
- Art