I went into this book expecting a straightforward, possibly dry academic text on, well, the history of the world through needlecraft.

What I got was was a deeply personal and far reaching narrative stitched together through stories, themes, and of course, textiles. While rooted in the author's personal experience, the book nevertheless touches almost every part of the world and many, many spans of time in human history.

Truly impressive, and joyful to read.

A microhistory of sorts, told through a traditionally female art form: needlework. Hunter examines history by way of textiles, from knitting to weaving, with compelling stories and descriptions of famous and unknown works. I reviewed a digital edition, so I don't know if there are pictures with the print edition, but I could have used more photography or drawings of the works themselves. Will appeal to readers who enjoy microhistories, feminist nonfiction, crafts, and more.

I really enjoyed a great many things about this book. Characters were fleshed out and the plot was well spaced. Some of the secondary storylines could've used a bit more page space but all in all an enjoyable read!

I was provided with an ARC of this title from Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

This is an insightful glimpse into history via the lens of those who plied the needle. The evolution and impact of embroidery and textiles on economies, governments and social unrest has been painstakingly researched.

This is a wonderful read that will give you a first hand perspective of the hidden details that have lingered in the eaves of civilization's most fascinating moments. If you are a needleworker as I am, it will inspire you to take on new projects and try new techniques.

Questionable editing. No photos when it is a visual medium the author is constantly describing. The topic is interesting but the book leaves a lot of to be desired.

Threads of Life: A History of the World Through the Eye of a Needle is an erudite survey of the social history of needlework written by Clare Hunter. Released 15th Oct 2019 by Abrams, it's 320 pages and available in hardcover format.

These disparate essays cover shared emotional human themes from loss and frailty, captivity, value, artistic merit, and having a voice. There are 16 different thematic chapters along with a foreword and conclusion. The author has a very precise but soulful writing voice and connects emotionally with the reader. I was drawn in and touched and emotionally invested in the stories she conveys. Many of them had an immediacy and relevance despite the intervening years (sometimes centuries).

The writing feels academic, though there are no annotations directly in the text. The book does include a fairly extensive bibliography and links list with online resources for further reading. I am emphatically not a historian (big bionerd here), but when spot checking some of the facts listed, I found no glaring errors.

The writing and spelling are British standard, but it shouldn't be distracting or intrusive for most readers. The biggest drawback in my opinion was the lack of illustrations. The author has included an extensive links list for online searches of many of the pieces which are covered in the text. I think that might also be one of the reasons that it felt like a more academic treatise to me.

The history of needlework is tied in many places to gender history, and as such, this would make a good support text for art history, gender studies, textile studies and the like. It also made for an interesting (sometimes touchingly sad) and captivating read for non-academics as well. Just don't expect illustrations.

Four stars.

I was disappointed in this title. There were several mistakes in historical content included in the advanced reader's copy that I was suspect of all the information presented. With the first interlude, listing King Harold Godwinson as the son of King Edward the Confessor was an egregious mistake that I would have assumed been updated before the American edition or ARC was released.. I also wish that an American editor had updated the language attending to enslaved individuals discussed in embroideries created during the 18th and 19th centuries. I fully understand that a European author would have a different outlook on such language, but there were several descriptors that would not be appropriate to POC.

With all the information presented as factual, it would have been helpful if sources were cited. The author made many broad observations in her musings.

The largest disappointment was the exclusion of images. Providing a list of URLs in the notes at the end that can be pursued by the reader is a disservice to a visual medium such as embroidery.

If you are interested in embroidery or sewing or in textiles and the history of them then this fascinating book is for you. I loved the history from Mary Queen of Scots to the present day. Women and stitching and their impact on history. Lots of research, well written.

"Sewing has a visual language. It has a voice. It has been used by people to communicate something of themselves--their history, beliefs, prayers and protests."~ from Threads of Life by Claire Hunter

Twenty-eight years ago I made my first quilt and it changed my life. As I honed my skills I was inspired by historic and traditional quilts but also by art quilts.

Early on I dreamed of being able to make quilts that represented my values, interests, and views. I eagerly learned new skills, from hand embroidery and hand quilting to surface design, machine thread work, and fusible applique. I have been making a series of quilts on authors I love. I have created a Pride and Prejudice storybook quilt, an Apollo 11 quilt, and embroidered quilts of the First Ladies, Green Heros, and women abolitionists and Civil Rights leaders.

I was excited to be given an egalley of Claire Hunter's book Threads of Life: A History of the World Through the Eye of a Needle.

Hunter identifies themes in needlecraft including power, frailty, captivity, identity, connection, protest, loss, community, and voice. She shares a breathtaking number of stories that span history and from across the world.

Hunter begins with the history of the Bayeux Tapestry, a panel of wool embroidery showing scenes from the Battle of Hastings in 1066. Its history illustrates the ups and downs in cultural attitudes toward needlework.

It was forgotten, nearly upcycled, and used for a carnival float backdrop. Napoleon put it in a museum until it fell out of fashion and was again relegated to storage here and there. Himmler got a hold of it during WWII and publicized the artifact and saved it from destruction. Then the French Resistance took possession of the Louvre and the tapestry.

900 years later, the tapestry attracts thousands of viewers every year, a worldwide cultural icon, and inspired The Games of Thrones Tapestry.

Yet, we don't know who designed the tapestry or embroidered it, the challenges and tragedies they faced. They remain anonymous.

I was familiar with the Changi prison camp quilts created during WWII by women POWs in Japanese camps. Hunter explains how the women created images with personal and political meaning to tell loved ones they survived.

I have seen Mola reverse applique but did not know it was an invention of necessity. Spanish colonists in Panama and Columbia insisted the indigenous women cover their chests. Traditionally, the women sported tattoos with spiritual symbols which they transferred to fabric. In many cultures, cloth has a spiritual element.

Hunter also touches on Harriet Power's Bible Quilt, Gees Bend quilters, the Glasgow School of Art Department of Needlework, and Suffragists banners.

There was much that was new to me. How Ukrainian embroidery was forbidden under Soviet rule as they systematically dismantled cultural traditions. Or how the Nazis used Jewish slave labor to sew German uniforms and luxury clothing.

Hunter tells stories from history and also how needle and thread are employed today as therapy and as community engagement and to voice political and feminist statements. She tells the memorable story of guiding male prisoners in the making of curtains for a common room and how she worked with groups, Austrian Aboriginies and Gaelic women, to make banners addressing displacement and community disruption.

We also read about the history of sewing, the impact of industrialization and the rise of factory production, the home sewing machine, the shift from skilled craft to homemade decorative arts.

Art quilters and textile artists like Faith Ringgold and Judy Chicago are discussed.

Social awareness needlework included the quite well known Aids Quilt but also the little known banner The Ribbon, created to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the nuclear bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Justine Merritt organized the sewing of peace panels to be stitched together. 25,000 panels were made. 20,000 people collected on August 4, 1985, to wrap the 15-mile long Ribbon around the Pentagon, the Arlington Memorial Bridge, the Lincoln Memorial, and to the Capital and back to the Pentagon. The media and President Reagen ignored it.

Threads of Life may seem an unusual book, a niche book, but I do think it has a wide appeal that will interest many readers.

I was given access to a free egalley through NetGalley in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.

This was a captivating book about the evolution of the societal importance and validity of personal expression through textile arts/sewing/embroidery from the Middle Ages to the present day. The author also included a lot of personal and stories and experiences, as well as those from cultures around the world. Potentially it ended a bit abruptly, and it would have been nice with some illustrations or photographs, but aside from that it was remarkably binge-worthy. It had several heart-touching passages, such as when injured WWI soldiers were able to find meaning in life again through what would now be considered art therapy via embroidery, the rebellious stitching done by both female and male POWs and ”comfort women” in WWII, the mothers of the missing in Argentina, etc., etc. Female empowerment, individual storytelling, the control of narratives, and the strength of the human spirit are some of the other underlying themes in this book.

I received a free copy of Threads of Life, but that did not affect my review.

Threads of Life by Clare Hunter chronicles the importance of women and needlework throughout history. It tells the ways in which women used needlework to express their views on political, social, and historical events. Needlework has played such an important role in coping with traumatic events, propaganda, and story telling. This book tells the importance of what has been considered to be traditionally women's work that has often been overlooked through history.

I would highly recommend this for anyone interested in needlework and women's history.

A fascinating look at the importance of WWomen of the use of needle in thread in history.Moments where embroidery is used to commemorate an important event date uprising.This is an interesting read an important look at gifts to history through use of needle%& thread found this a really interesting informative read highly recommend. #netgaley#abramsbooks.

This excellent text tells the story of needle and thread as it is used across many places and times of human history. The details, history, and art of needlecraft, all in one book, connect and comfort people, record events and thoughts, and express despair and joy. Sewing and embroidery are historically female arts and the text demonstrates its use as methods of female communication, especially during uncomfortable, dangerous situations. The practical aspects of sewing offer insight into how needle and thread offer individuals peace and refuge. The explanations of history, social and political commentary, and uses to aid individuals provide insight into dark corners of human history. This is an exciting, diverse look at women's history, the history of political & social loss, recovery, and a testament of those individuals and groups that have suffered life-altering setbacks. Recommended for all libraries.