Dorothy Armstrong

A fascinating alternative history covering 2,500 years and a geographical span from Japan to California NEW STATESMAN A revelation . . . The tale of each carpet as Armstrong tells it is untidy and tragic and comical all at once TESSA HADLEY On the saddles of warlords, draping the walls of palaces, under the feet of presidents, dictators and religious...

A spellbinding look at the history of the world through the stories of twelve carpets Beautiful, sensuous, and enigmatic, great carpets follow power. Emperors, shahs, sultans, and samurai crave them as symbols of earthly domination. Shamans and priests desire them to evoke the spiritual realm. The world's 1% hunger after them as displays of extreme status. And yet these seductive...