• Disrobed

  • How Clothing Predicts Economic Cycles, Saves Lives, and Determines the Future
  • By: Syl Tang
  • Narrated by: Randye Kaye
  • Length: 5 hrs and 45 mins
  • 4.3 out of 5 stars (12 ratings)

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Disrobed  By  cover art

Disrobed

By: Syl Tang
Narrated by: Randye Kaye
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Publisher's summary

We may not often think of our clothes as having a function beyond covering our naked bodies and keeping us a little safer from the elements. But to discount the enormous influence of clothing on anything from economic cycles to the future of water scarcity is to ignore the greater meaning of the garments we put on our backs. Disrobed vividly considers the role that clothing plays in everything from natural disasters to climate change to terrorism to geopolitics to agribusiness.

Chapter by chapter, Tang takes the listener on an unusual journey, telling stories and asking questions that most consumers have never considered about their clothing. Why do banker's wives sell off their clothes and how does that presage a recession? How is clothing linked to ethanol and starvation on the African continent? Could RFID in clothing save the lives of millions of people in earthquakes around the world?

This book takes an everyday item and considers it in a way that listeners may not have previously thought possible. It tackles topics relevant to today, from fakes in the museums to farm-to-table eating, and answers questions about how we can anticipate and change our world in areas as far-reaching as the environment, politics, and the clash of civilizations occurring between countries.

©2017 Syl Tang (P)2017 Tantor

Critic reviews

"A fresh perspective about how our individual choices can radically upend societies on the other side of the globe." (Aki Peritz, former CIA analyst)

What listeners say about Disrobed

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Very informative and Great book, kind of misleading title

This was a surprisingly good book. Really informative and we'll narrated. The title is a bit misleading though. I was expecting a bit more in terms of relationship between clothes and people's choices in relation to the current economic climate. However, they were a ton of data regarding people's habits during different economic or social constraints. I would definitely recommend this book for its amazing Linking of clothes to political and social norms of our everyday social lives. Very informative!

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Eye opening!

Syl Tang has really opened my eyes here. My biggest takeaway was how far reaching every decision to buy, not buy, follow the latest trend or societal norm, adhere to religious guidelines, etc., can be. These decisions can be detrimental to our planet and limited resources, even while attempting to be "Green". Our clothing choices can even further marginalize people, cultures, and even species, that are already on the brink. Wow!

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