A unique and compelling adventure through the history of rope and its impact on civilisation, in the vein of single-subject bestsellers like Salt and Cod.
Tim Queeney is a sailor who knows more about rope and its importance to humankind than most. In Rope, Queeney takes readers on a ride through the history of rope and the way it weaves itself through the story of civilisation. From Magellan's world-circling ships, to the 15th-century fleet of Admiral Zheng He, to Polynesian multihulls with crab claw sails, he shows how without rope, none of their adventurous voyages and discoveries would have been possible. Time travelling, he describes the building of the pyramids, the Roman Colosseum, Hagia Sophia, Notre-Dame, the Sultan Hasan Mosque, the Brooklyn Bridge, and countless other constructions that would not have been possible without rope.
Not content to just look at rope's past, Queeney examines its present and possible future and how the re-invention of rope with synthetic fibres will likely provide the strength for cables to support elevators into space. Drawing upon personal experience, Queeney tells remarkable nautical stories of his own reliance on rope at sea. Rope is history, adventure, and the story of one of the world's most common tools that has made it possible for humans to advance throughout the centuries.
| ISBN: | 9781837733316 |
| Publication date: | 14th August 2025 |
| Author: | Tim Queeney |
| Publisher: | Icon Books |
| Format: | Hardback |
| Pagination: | 336 pages |
| Genres: |
History History of engineering and technology Technology, Engineering, Agriculture, Industrial processes |
A unique and compelling adventure through the history of rope and its impact on civilisation, in the vein of single-subject bestsellers like Salt and Cod.
Tim Queeney is a sailor who knows more about rope and its importance to humankind than most. In Rope, Queeney takes readers on a ride through the history of rope and the way it weaves itself through the story of civilisation. From Magellan's world-circling ships, to the 15th-century fleet of Admiral Zheng He, to Polynesian multihulls with crab claw sails, he shows how without rope, none of their adventurous voyages and discoveries would have been possible. Time travelling, he describes the building of the pyramids, the Roman Colosseum, Hagia Sophia, Notre-Dame, the Sultan Hasan Mosque, the Brooklyn Bridge, and countless other constructions that would not have been possible without rope.
Not content to just look at rope's past, Queeney examines its present and possible future and how the re-invention of rope with synthetic fibres will likely provide the strength for cables to support elevators into space. Drawing upon personal experience, Queeney tells remarkable nautical stories of his own reliance on rope at sea. Rope is history, adventure, and the story of one of the world's most common tools that has made it possible for humans to advance throughout the centuries.
Rope features in the following genres: History, Technology, Engineering, Agriculture, Industrial processes, History of engineering and technology
Rope is available in Hardback
Rope was written by Tim Queeney and published by Icon Books
Rope has 336 pages
£18.00