"First Edition: December 2020" stated; signed by Virginia Postrel on title page (pic); Basic Books publishers; very good condition of book and dust jacket.
 
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The Fabric of Civilization: How Textiles Made the World by Virginia Postrel argues that textiles are a foundational technology that drove human innovation, commerce, and culture, from ancient times to the present. The book details how the need for cloth spurred advancements in mathematics, chemistry, and computing, funded empires, spread literacy, and shaped global trade, often overlooked due to its ubiquity and association with "women's work". Postrel connects the history of textiles to major developments like the rise of banking, the spread of the alphabet, and the Industrial Revolution, showing how the creation of fabric has been central to human progress.