Book cover of A World History of Rubber: Empire, Industry, and the Everyday

Book description

A World History of Rubber helps readers understand and gain new insights into the social and cultural contexts of global production and consumption, from the nineteenth century to today, through the fascinating story of one commodity.

Divides the coverage into themes of race, migration, and labor; gender on plantations and…

When you buy books, we may earn a commission that helps keep our lights on (or join the rebellion as a member).

Why read it?

1 author picked A World History of Rubber as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

As Harp says, “…confronting the realities of the past will make us wiser, better-informed global citizens in the future.”

He tells us about rubber tree seeds stolen from trees in Brazil that allowed British rubber plantations to thrive in the Far East where they provided a British monopoly of rubber during WWI when rubber made its mark as a ‘must have’ for the war machine.

Rubber collected in the wild in Brazil and the Congo set the stage for the early development of this miracle substance that would eventually waterproof the world. Then in 1904 an international campaign exposed the…

From John's list on plants that changed the world.

If you love A World History of Rubber...

Ad

Book cover of December on 5C4

December on 5C4 by Adam Strassberg,

Magical realism meets the magic of Christmas in this mix of Jewish, New Testament, and Santa stories–all reenacted in an urban psychiatric hospital!

On locked ward 5C4, Josh, a patient with many similarities to Jesus, is hospitalized concurrently with Nick, a patient with many similarities to Santa. The two argue…

Want books like A World History of Rubber?

Our community of 12,000+ authors has personally recommended 100 books like A World History of Rubber.

Browse books like A World History of Rubber

Book cover of Potato: A Global History
Book cover of Banana: The Fate of the Fruit That Changed the World
Book cover of Uncommon Grounds: The History of Coffee and How It Transformed Our World

Share your top 3 reads of 2025!

And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.

1,278

readers submitted
so far, will you?

Ad

📚 If you like A World History of Rubber, you might also like...

Book cover of The Bridge: Connecting The Powers of Linear and Circular Thinking

The Bridge by Kim Hudson,

The Bridge provides a compassionate and well researched window into the worlds of linear and circular thinking. A core pattern to the inner workings of these two thinking styles is revealed, and most importantly, insight into how to cross the distance between them. Some fascinating features emerged such as, circular…

Book cover of And Then They Were Gone: Teenagers of Peoples Temple from High School to Jonestown

And Then They Were Gone by Ron Cabral,

Of the 918 Americans who died in the shocking murder-suicides of November 18, 1978, in the tiny South American country of Guyana, a third were under eighteen. More than half were in their twenties or younger.

The authors taught in a small high school in San Francisco where Reverend Jim…

5 book lists we think you will like!