Empire of Cotton: A Global HistoryEmpire of Cotton: A Global History
Score Modern
What it's about
The rise and fall of the empire of cotton: how European entrepreneurs and statesmen, combining imperial expansion and slave labor with new machines and wage workers, made cotton central to the world economy and remade global capitalism.
Why it's worth reading
It was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in History.
You'll love it if you liked
The Ascent of Money: A Financial History of the World
Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind
The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America's Great MigrationGood to know
It's economic history.
By the numbers
- Readers27 out of 100 · counts 42%
- Critics30 out of 100 · counts 34% (its stronger lane)
- Bestseller2 out of 100 · counts 14%
- Buzz3 out of 100 · counts 10%
Critics and Bestseller are two ways to earn a place: a book's stronger one counts more. Buzz rewards recent bestseller weeks and prizes, so older books start at zero. The parts combine into the Must-Read Score, shown on a scale where the best book we found scores 99 and the last book to make the ranking scores 50.
Where it ranks
- #192 of the 198 history books we rank
- #1442 of the 1,647 modern books we rank
- #2719 of the 3,056 books we rank
Why it made the list
Reads as
True story
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Quick answers
Is Empire of Cotton: A Global History worth reading?
Yes. It was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in History. It ranks #2,719 of the 3,056 books in our ranking, with a Must-Read Score of 57.8 (the best book we found scores 99).
What is Empire of Cotton: A Global History about?
The rise and fall of the empire of cotton: how European entrepreneurs and statesmen, combining imperial expansion and slave labor with new machines and wage workers, made cotton central to the world economy and remade global capitalism.
How long does it take to read Empire of Cotton: A Global History?
About 16 hours (641 pages), or about 5 weeks at 30 minutes a day.
What should I read after Empire of Cotton: A Global History?
If you liked it, try The Ascent of Money: A Financial History of the World by Niall Ferguson, Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari or The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America's Great Migration by Isabel Wilkerson.