{"product_id":"a-perfect-red-empire-espionage-and-the-quest-for-the-color-of-desire-9780060522766","title":"A Perfect Red: Empire, Espionage, and the Quest for the Color of Desire","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\"You'll finish [Greenfield's] book with new respect for color, especially for red. With \u003cem\u003eA Perfect Red\u003c\/em\u003e, she does for it what Mark Kurlansky in\u003cem\u003e Salt\u003c\/em\u003e did for that common commodity.\"--\u003cem\u003eHouston Chronicle\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eInterweaving 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.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eA Perfect Red\u003c\/em\u003e 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.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Amy Butler Greenfield\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Harper Perennial\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 04\/25\/2006\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 352\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.61lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.00h x 5.28w x 0.87d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780060522766","brand":"Harper Perennial","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42447470264457,"sku":"9780060522766","price":17.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0636\/9240\/6921\/files\/img_860d8007-179d-45de-a3c4-6dc32746e312.jpg?v=1715923939","url":"https:\/\/sonsanddaughtersbooks.com\/products\/a-perfect-red-empire-espionage-and-the-quest-for-the-color-of-desire-9780060522766","provider":"Sons and Daughters Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}