Broudy is unusually skillful in making the complex appear simple. . . . Any weaver would enjoy it.

Broudy extracts his evidence from such unlikely places as Egyptian tombs to the unearthed ruins of a ninth century Viking ship in Norway . . . In this awesome feat of research, recounted with storytelling expertise, he traces the growth of weaving from simple matting and wickerwork basketry to the massive Tapestry (haute-lisse)looms of the Gobelin workshop of Paris and the silk-producing izaribata looms of China . . . If you are a weaver by profession or hobby, this book will make you proud of it, and, if you have never touched a loom and are thinking of a new career, this book will, once you tear yourself away from it, send you spinning off to the yarn store.

If you are also fascinated by the historical and cultural aspects of weaving, this book should find a place in your library.